Field Marshal Andras Hadik is a Hungarian national hero, who loyally served Maria
Theresa, the Queen of Hungary. She also happened to be the Habsburg Holy Roman
Empress. That could make things complicated, especially when he was expected to
fight alongside Saxons, whom his honorable Hussars essentially considered
scurvy dogs. They could agree on fighting Prussians, which is exactly what they
did when the Field Marshal led a daring raid on Berlin, dramatized in Janos
Szikora’s Hadik, which premieres today on Klassiki.
Hadik was
so competent and successful, nearly the entire court and war council was
aligned against him. The only exception was Maria Theresa, because he was
talented. After an ignoble defeat Hadik nearly averted, jealous generals tried
to scapegoat the famous Hussar, but Maria Theresa would not have that for long.
Soon, she recalls Hadik to service, because she knows he is the only officer
who can accomplish her daring mission.
Having received
intel regarding Prussian troop movements, Maria Theresa realizes Frederick the
Great left Berlin dangerously under-defended. Ransoming Berlin would be a huge
coup, but all the court dandies are too timid to grasp the moment. Hadik gets
it—and hatches plans to accomplish it.
Hadik
will lead his Hussars and the Saxons Maria Theresa forces him to take, for
political reasons, over the mountains, sort of like Hannibal. They cannot carry
artillery, so they will plunder cannons from Frederick’s munitions factory
along the way. It is a huge gamble, but Hadik’s Hussars will follow him
anywhere. However, Saxon Colonel Ried constantly demands their pay.
Szikora’s
approach is definitely traditional, but that is generally refreshing. Mark
Kis-Szabo’s screenplay is certainly patriotic, but there is sufficient intrigue
swirling around Maria Theresa so that it never feels like jingoistic propaganda
for Orban’s authoritarian ambitions. If anything, it encourages skepticism of
royals and nobility.
That
said, Hadik is certainly presented as a paragon, but Zsolt Trill largely
humanizes the Field Marshal by emphasizing his love for his family and desire
to retire to a quieter life. We also see his ardent loyalty to his comrades-in-arms,
particularly crusty old Farkas and their protégé, roguishly dashing Gvadanyi.
Indeed, one of the best aspects of the film is the way Trill, Tamas Szalma, and
Aron Molnar capture the three Hussars’ comradery.
Fossil fuels are the only things propping up the Russian economy right now, so
don’t expect Putin to help reduce carbon emissions. Keep in mind, he was also a
KGB agent, when the USSR was one of the dirtiest polluters on Earth. As usual, Russia’s
regional ethnic minorities pay the price. Thanks to record high temperatures,
northeast Siberia was plagued with unprecedented forest fires in 2021, but the
national government in Moscow supplied no assistance. It wasn’t an oversight.
That was policy. The hardscrabble residents of Shologon must face the advancing
flames alone in Alexander Abaturov’s documentary, Paradise, which
premieres tomorrow on Klassiki as the “Pick of the Week.”
Unfortunately,
the Taiga region where Shologon is located had been designated one of Russia’s inaptly
named special “control” zones. That means the national government will withhold
support if they believe the potential costs of fighting fires are greater than
the benefits of saving the endangered areas. Somehow, Shologon was fortunate
enough to get Pavel, a forest fire expert temporarily assigned to them, but all
the labor involved comes from the village. (To be fair, Pavel appears willing
to roll up his sleeves and pitch in too.)
Although
Abaturov takes an editorially restrained, highly observational approach, he still
captures some very dramatic footage of the wildfires encroaching on Shologon—mostly
just by leaning out of car windows and filming the villages as the desperately trying
to set backfires and firebreaks. The villagers do so largely unprotected, as
was presumably true for Abaturov as well. The air and skies often look ominously
orange and smoky, which is not the result of filters or any sort of augmentation
(as New Yorkers will remember from when the Canadian forest fires turned our
skyline a sickly shade of amber last year.)
Like
Pavel, Abaturov clearly sympathizes with the citizens of Shologon. The current
regime badly exploits its regional minorities, definitely including the Turkic
and Mongolian people of Siberia. In 2021, Putin’s government turned their backs
on them, during their time of crisis. Today, the hardscrabble provinces are
disproportionately likely to serve as cannon-fodder, because they cannot afford
the estimated five to seven thousand dollar bribes necessary to buy their way
out of conscription.
