A Tizedes Meg a Többiek on AllMovie

Márton Keleti's acclaimed (but now sadly forgotten) Hungarian period satire The Corporal and Others (AKA A Tizedes Meg a Toebbiek, 1966) spins a comic situation from a tragic circumstance: that of Hungary's collaboration with the Nazis in the last waning years of World War II. Against this backdrop, the Hungarian Corporal (Imre Sinkovits) grows tired of the bellicosity and bloodshed, and opts to desert. He makes a mad dash for an old, deserted castle, where he joins a group of AWOL soldiers cowering there; over time, a series of politically opposed factions confront the men, who dodge conflict by simply changing their uniforms and philosophies to side with the enemy at hand - be they Communists, Hungarian fascists or German Nazis. Keleti uses much screen time to send up Hungarian customs, traditions and behavioral modes, rendering this a film that was far more appreciated in its native country than abroad. Tamas Major and Ivan Darvas co-star.