Directed by Zoltán Fábri • 1956 • Hungary

Zoltán Fábri’s dizzying romance marked a turning point in post-war Hungarian cinema when it premiered at Cannes in 1956. Based on a novel by Imre Sarkadi, the film charts the travails of Mari (a star-making turn from Mari Törőcsik), a peasant girl betrothed against her will to a wealthy older man and pining for her true love, collective farmer Mátéus (Imre Soós). Fábri’s trademark humanism and classical poise comes to the fore in this tale of a rural society on the brink of change, aided by the nimble camerawork of Barnabás Hegyi. Featuring some of the most iconic scenes in Hungarian film history, Merry-Go-Round retains its irresistible gravitational pull.

MERRY-GO-ROUND • KÖRHINTA
Directed by Zoltán Fábri
Written by Zoltán Fábri and László Nádasy
From the novel by Imre Sarkadi
Cinematography by Barnabás Hegyi
Music by György Ránki
Starring: Mari Törőcsik, Imre Soós, Ádám Szirtes

In Hungarian with English subtitles

Nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival, 1956