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Set in 1956 during the Hungarian rebellion, this partisan drama downplays the seriousness of the revolt, in part by setting the story not in Budapest, but in a small village. The local rebels take over a military base where the soldiers themselves are divided about which side of the fence they support. At the same time, a former landlord tries to recover his property, now run by a flourishing commune, and a dark, sinister revolutionary type seems to be fomenting the discord. Russian tanks rolling down the streets of Budapest never get their moment, as the film focuses on Hungarian activists and rebels. That viewpoint gives the impression that the conflict was mainly an internal issue.