322

A story of a man threatened by a fatal illness evaluating his life (the number 322 stands for the diagnoses of one kind of cancer) He understands his disease as a form of punishment for his cruel deeds in the 1950s. In the face of reality and his efforts to cleanse himself he hits a barrier of indifference, lack of interest, and individual and collective selfishness. He has to find his own reconciliation with his illness and his past and present life. "We needed a film like this, we needed it very much. It filled in a gap in Slovak cinema in terms of style. This film is also a proof to Hanák’s talent as that of a film director with a special, very sensitive and intellectually sophisticated perception of reality. [...] [Hanák] manifested an original artistic expression, which distinguishes him from other filmmakers even beyond his own generation. He is never violent and he is always natural, and he takes everything with due measure. He makes functional use of asynchronic sound; in several scenes he achieves notable results by music based on contrast. His use of close-ups and various points of view are fitting. He is great at casting and leading his actors. [Hassmann, Rudolf: Uncommon “322”. Matičné čítanie, no. 1, 1971, p. 5.]