István Kardos Movies

The slow decay of a marriage sets the stage for this drama, which is leavened with understated humor. In 1988, Jozsi (Gergely Kocsis) is a Hungarian laborer who decides to marry Elizaveta (Eniko Borcsok), a woman of Hungarian descent living in the Ukraine. 1996 finds Joszi and Elizaveta the parents of a young girl, but otherwise their marriage is a shambles; Jozsi has become an alcoholic and Elizaveta has decided she needs to strike out on her own for the sake of her child. Shot on digital video as a project for Hungarian television, Paszport was directed by Peter Gothar, who previously made the international success Megall Az Ido. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this black-and-white Hungarian version of James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice (filmed four times previously), a wife (Ildiko Bansagi) and her lover (Janos Derzsi) plot to kill her older husband (Dzsoko Rozsics). This time the book's opening chapters have been dropped to have the tale begin with the drifter already employed by the old man. Cain's 1934 novel was first filmed in France by Pierre Chenal as Le Dernier Tournant (1939), followed by Luchino Visconti's neorealist classic Ossessione (1943) and the more familiar American adaptations by Tay Garnett (1946) and Bob Rafelson (1981). Passion won a half-dozen of the 1998 Hungarian Film Awards -- Best Film, Director, Actress, Actor (shared), Cinematography, plus the award selected by foreign critics. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

In this enigmatic film set in the late communist era, two Hungarian women whose husbands were killed in communist purges are on the French seashore with the son of one of them. The boy is recovering from some sort of ailment, and has permission to sojourn abroad. When the trio return to Hungary, they are given permission to start a charitable foundation to care for stray dogs. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Soft, sensual cinematography abounds in this erotic look back at a gypsy girl's coming of age. It is based on a popular novel penned by famed Hungarian novelist Peter Esterhazy using the pseudonym Lili Csokonai and represents 'Lili's" autobiography. In the film, Lili has lost her legs in a terrible accident. An extraordinary beauty, she spends a miserable wheelchair-bound life stranded in her apartment and forced to satisfy her husband's sexual whims. It is only through her diary that she finds comfort. Therein, she remembers her one great love, a dashing salesman who introduced the adolescent girl to all of life's sensual pleasures. Like a spoiled housecat, Lili comes to expect, demand that her lover Marton continue to satisfy her unending thirst for comfort, passion and love. When she discovers that he is engage to another she refuses to let go. Afterward she learns about another type of love with her beautiful lesbian neighbor. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Olga is a "serpentine dancer" for a traveling vaudeville show in Germany. She is surrounded by people with all sorts of attitudes about what effect the advent of motion pictures will have on live theatricals. In the story, the son of a photographer, is hired to travel with the little troupe, falls in love with the mute young dancer, and leaves the troupe along with her. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

At seventeen, Zoli is the oldest of four unsettled youths, whose condition mirrors that of their nation, which has been cast adrift from the communist moorings which, however unpopular, gave structure to its life. Of the rest, Attila is the most committed to criminality; Laci would be a misfit anywhere; and Csoma knows how to get things done, though he is the youngest, just ten years old. Most of their schemes are harmless, from the usual window-washing scam to some petty larceny. The appearance of an exotic-looking Romanian girl on the scene inspires all the boys to exert themselves to impress her, though she soon becomes Zoli's special girl. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this children's musical, a lad just like any other lad (except that he is an alien) lands on Earth in a space ship that's actually an old suitcase with a helicopter blade. He's placed in an orphanage, from which an actress (Judit Halasz) adopts him. There are some sight gags, but the story is chiefly a vehicle for songs and music composed by Janus Brody and sung by Halasz. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The seeming hopelessness of combatting an all-powerful government that will not tolerate political dissension is the focus of this excellent historical drama set in the mid-19th century in Hungary. In the opening scenes, Hungary has just lost its bid for independence from Austria and a Magyar officer, unable to bear the tragedy of defeat and what it means, says an affectionate good-bye to his beloved horse and then shoots the animal and himself. Two years later, Ferenc (Gyorgy Cserhalmi) is trying to eke out a living for his wife and her family -- and at the same time avoid any hint of sympathy for Hungarian independence because the Secret Police are everywhere. Just as life seems to be going well, Ferenc's former commanding officer (Lajos Oze) arrives and begins discussing revolution again -- a futile pursuit at this point in time. The next day, Ferenc is thrown into an insane asylum and everyone else is arrested as well. While in the asylum, Ferenc manages to smuggle out a letter denouncing the Austrian monarchy, and for his efforts his family is further persecuted. Parallels to modern politics would not be coincidental. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this film, an angel falls from the sky and one on-looker sees him as a means of stopping the aging process, another (an archbishop) sees the angel as a ticket to the papacy, and in the case of Count Miklos Zrinyi (Viktor Fulop), the angel is a sign that he should lead the forces for Hungarian national unity (the year is 1664). When someone later tries to assassinate Count Miklos, the bullet is stopped by a crucifix he wears. Other adventures weave in and out of the story, but eventually Count Miklos, who first saw the angel fall while he was out hunting for boars, frees the winged celestial who was hiding in a hen house by this time, and the heavenly being flies away. Once he has gone, the story zips back to its opening scene of the Count and his men wounding a boar - now at the end, the boar comes back for its revenge and real history resumes its course. Director Ferenc Kardos may have been too enthusiastic in his mix of fantasy, literary allusions, and Hungarian history in Mennyei Seregek because the symbolism, whatever else it is, will be abstruse for many viewers. This tale is reminiscent of an earlier short story by Gabirel García Márquez in which an angel falls from the sky, is put in a chicken coop for want of any other idea, and is treated almost in a second-hand manner. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Jutka (Erika Ozsda) was an innocent 15-year-old peasant when she and her friend Zsuzsa (Andrea Szendrei) left for the big city to get work in a textile factory and live independently. Their freedom quickly became more than they could handle when Zsuzsa found herself pregnant and did not tell her parents for fear of reprisals. Although Zsuzsa has the baby, she informs her family that the child is Jutka's. While this is going on, Jutka meets the very pleasant Peter (Denes Diczhazi). They go to the movies together and generally enjoy each other's company. Not everything is pleasant for Jutka in the sometimes hostile city, but she is fairly good at adapting to all sorts of circumstances -- and then she discovers that she too, is pregnant. At first she is willing to have the baby, but then one of Peter's friends, in a drunken haze, brutally rapes her -- and she is a changed woman. She appears before the intimidating, silent women of the Abortion Board to request to abort the baby -- and under the circumstances, believing the child to be the result of a rape, the formidable-looking board agrees. After all of these setbacks and tragedies, Jutka decides to take care of Zsuzsa's baby -- and perhaps that one positive move will start to set her life back on a normal course again. This film won the Camera d'Or prize at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

When a young Hungarian rock musician suffers a few hard knocks at the hands of angry fans, he decides to start his own group and recruits some talent that leads to successful gigs. That seems to be the extent of his good luck, as he is a failure at getting the band a television appearance, and his musicians are on the verge of sending him packing. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The Hungarian Sunday Daughters stars Julianne Nyako as a troublesome teenage girl. Her parents having given up on her, Nyako is shunted away to a detention home. She plots an escape, hoping to find someone who'll give her the love denied her by her parents. Her adventures on the outside range from euphoric to bitter. Sunday Daughters is by and large an obscurity, though curious viewers will be able to find it on scattered "Foreign Language" video store shelves. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi