Miklos Jancso was one of the most important Hungarian directors of the communist period, and used the traveling dolly shot more skillfully than any other film maker. His ideas about movement and drama contributed a great deal to the film landscape. His films are highly didactic, filled with undeveloped characters acting out rituals which express his loathing for war. His films are often rituals of massacre--one side killing enemies, then the other side killing enemies. THE RED AND THE WHITE is a fine example. RED PSALM comes very late in the cannon, and is his first color film. It's a rare bird indeed. The film moves very much like a piece of music--theme is stated then returned to with variations. Peasants gather to resist their oppressors and the crowds and oppressors keep growing in size. The whole affair reflects a national celebration--music and dance infiltrate every scene while a constant litany of communist agitprop fills the soundtrack. What's unusual is its "flower child" sensibility--nude girls with flowered crowns, dancing youth, a uniformly beautiful cast. Fire is another visual theme that grows in the film to include a burning church that must have influenced UNDERGROUND. It becomes an extravagant expression of visual poetry which Communist film making encouraged. (I AM CUBA) Nothing in American film looks anything like this film and if you're into visual style, this will amaze you. You'll also need patience.