Film analyses

Analysis of Private Vices, Public Virtues

Analysis of Private Vices, Public Virtues
Film analyses

Vizi privati, along with other Jancsó films made in Italy, has either been ignored or derided. Rolland Man argues that this is not just a “naughty” film but a compelling analysis of how rebels without a cause are doomed to fail. The “Italian period” of Miklós Jancsó’s output is very often ignored or treated in a few words by critics … Read more

About the films of Miklós Jancsó

About the films of Miklós Jancsó
Film analyses

Jancsó’s Hungarian films of the 1970s continued the extreme stylisation that had featured in his work of the previous decade but moved further away from naturalism and realism. Peter Hames undertakes a detailed analysis of three of them. For British cinephiles of the 1960s and 70s, London’s Academy Cinemas in Oxford Street were a key port of call. Alongside a … Read more

Analysis of Hukkle

Analysis of Hukkle
Film analyses

Being a fan of central European?and especially Hungarian?film can a bit depressing at times. Deep, introspective works of the “miserablist” tendency are common and the comedies are often slight, derivative pieces that seem better suited to television than the big screen. György Pálfi’s Hukkle (2002), however, will come as a welcome breath of fresh air, being a fresh and original debut that … Read more

Analysis of The Bridgeman

Analysis of The Bridgeman
Film analyses

The release date for Géza Bereményi’s A Hídember (The Bridgeman, 2002), a treatment of the life of Hungarian count, philanthropist and reluctant revolutionary István Széchenyi, had long been known: 11 April 2002. But only after 7 April, the day of the first round of the Hungarian parliamentary elections, did the significance of this timing become evident. Fidesz, the right-wing party whose coalition … Read more

Reviews of Chico

Reviews of Chico
Film analyses

…the audience [at Karlovy Vary] got the message, the jokes were in place, the audience laughed where it was supposed to, and was in deep silence during the tense scenes. Word about the success got around quickly, the film was showed twice with people sitting on the floor. When will Hungarian audiences have the chance to do the same?   … Read more

Analysis of Kosovo 2000

Analysis of Kosovo 2000
Film analyses

Hungarian documentarist Ferenc Moldoványi’s latest film ????-Fëmijët (Kosovo 2000) [2001] attempts to look at two manifestations of inexpressable mystery in the experience of war: the total and seemingly irrational tragedy that it sows in people’s lives and the less commonly explored territory of where such indescribable hate can possibly stem from. The title of Moldoványi’s film is the word for … Read more

Analysis of Daniel Takes a Train

Analysis of Daniel Takes a Train
Film analyses

Hungary has, perhaps, of all European countries the most under-rated cinema history. Few nations have managed to produce so many masterpieces and yet receive so little international acclaim for such a rich film heritage. This is, of course, a viscious circle, with the reduced opportunities to view Hungarian cinema leading to less critical writing on the subject, which in turn … Read more