Erasing Frank

In communist Hungary, punk singer Frank is placed in a psychiatric institution. There he meets Hanna, who doesn’t speak but with whom he has an intuitive artistic and personal connection. Together, they are determined to stand up to the system. Disquieting drama, shot in grainy black and white.

In Budapest in 1983, Frank and his underground punk band give a riveting show. However, the band is arrested during the performance for ‘anti-state arousal and propaganda’. With the help of his friend Anna, Frank manages to avoid jail and is placed in an open ward of the psychiatric institution where Hanna works. There, many artists, writers, pacifists and intellectuals are ‘recovering from stress’.

Despite the relative freedom in the open ward, Frank has trouble holding on to his sanity. Together with like-minded Hanna, he looks for ways to express himself in an environment which represses all individuality. In often surreal, dreamlike sequences, Frank interacts with many interesting characters along the way. Such as the aging Dr. Eros, who warns him to start supporting ‘the most progressive regime in the world’. Is there a way for Frank and Hanna to beat the system?