Summaries

Five years after Word War II Hungarian people are secretly arrested and taken to a labour camp without any judicial sentence. During the early 1950's the very existence of the camp for political prisoners at Recsk was one of the Hungarian communist regime's deepest secrets. Escape From Recsk tells the story of the only person who ever managed to escape successfully from Recsk - Hungary's most notorious prison camp. He cherishes his hope by memorizing the names of fellow prisoners. The disclosure of the names of these prisoners in the West revealed the existence of the camp to the world and started the process that eventually led to dismantling the gulag camps in Central East Europe. Escape From Recsk captures the atmosphere of paranoia, humiliation and degradation that prevailed throughout the Stalinist gulag system. Even the guards do not trust each other in this nightmare world where betrayal is the only currency for purchasing small favours, and even life.—Zoltan Furedi

Details

Keywords
  • 1950s
Genres
  • Drama
  • History
Release date Feb 12, 1997
Countries of origin Germany Hungary Poland
Official sites Official Site
Language Hungarian
Filming locations Nógrád, Hungary
Production companies Studio Filmowe Oko MTM Cineteve BGB Film

Box office

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 35m
Color Color Black and White
Aspect ratio

Synopsis

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