Jozsef Szarvas Movies
- 2006
A virtuous man discovers just how deep corruption can run, and how easy one can succumb to it, in this satiric comedy-drama from Hungarian filmmaker Istvan Szabo. When a scandal brings down the attorney general of a small but prosperous community near Budapest, Istvan Kopjass (Sandor Csanyi), a man with a clear record and impeccable ethics, is invited to take over the position. While his wife Lina (Ildiko Toth) is wary of the appointment and wants to avoid uprooting their children, Istvan is convinced he can make positive change and he accepts. However, only a few days after taking his new position, Istvan becomes aware of how challenging his job can be when the town's mayor (Oleg Tabakov) persuades him to abandon plans for a new tax schedule that would lower assessments for the poor. Istvan also discovers nearly everyone he meets claims to be some sort of distant relative, and as a consequence wants some sort of special consideration that he often finds difficult to refuse. Istvan's downfall begins when a less than honest banker (Karoly Eperjes) arranges for him to get a special deal on a large house in exchange for some favors, and things get much worse when the banker's attractive wife (Erika Marozsan) uses her charms to lure Istvan into some serious white collar crime. Rokonok (aka Relatives) was adapted from the novel of the same name by Zsigmond Moricz. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sándor Csányi, Ildiko Toth, (more)
- 2006
The good-times continue as the locals return to the dilapidated roadside café to face off against hostage-takers, tourists, and an over-eager census taker in actor-turned-director Peter Rudolf's episodic sequel to the hit Hungarian comedy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Péter Rudolf, Gabor Reviczky, (more)
- 2001
After their success in Nekem Lampast Adott Kezembe Az Ur Pesten and Anyad! A Szunyogok, Zoltan Musci and Peter Scherer make their third appearance together as dancing grave diggers Kapa and Pepe in this idiosyncratic musical comedy. As Kapa and Pepe pass their time in Heroes' Square in Budapest, they find themselves confronted by members of a number of political and social groups, including a gang of Hungarian wiseguys, a handful of right-wing extremists, and a faction of leftist radicals. But no matter how hard they try, Kapa and Pepe can't seem to fit in with any of them, finding their dancing works best on its own. Utolso Vacsora Az Arabs Szurkenel was directed by veteran filmmaker Miklos Jansco, who was 80 years old when the film was released. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zoltan Mucsi, Peter Scherrer, (more)
- 2001
It's just another day at the Glass Tiger Cafe, which means anything could happen and plenty usually does in this easygoing Hungarian comedy. Peter Rudolph plays Lali, the diner's proprietor, who over the course of a typical day finds himself dealing with a woman who can't hear or speak who has just been stood up at the altar; an inspector with the health department who nearly winds up in the hospital after getting too close to the electricity; a local cop who discovers his lottery ticket is a winner; two women who have their eye on Lali (too bad they happen to be mother and daughter); and a restroom that stubbornly refuses to work properly. Star Peter Rudolph also directed the film, in collaboration with Ivan Kapitany, and co-wrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Péter Rudolf, Gabor Reviczky, (more)
- 2001
In this black comedy that occasionally edges into horror territory, Jozsi (Lajos Kovacs) is a slightly touched and very single man who scrapes together a living through petty theft and scavenging valuable items from trash dumpsters. When Jozsi learns a new factory has opened in town, he decides to check them out, discovering their products include life-size, inflatable female dolls. Jozsi thinks one of the dolls bears a striking resemblance to a sales clerk at a local store for whom he's been carrying a torch, so he takes the doll home and soon has established a cozy domestic relationship with the doll. But Jozsi's happiness is short-lived, which is bad news for the flesh-and-blood woman of his dreams. Bizarr Romanc: Tanyasi Dekameron was shown in competition at 2001's Hungarian Millennial Film Week. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lajos Kovács, Jozsef Szarvas, (more)
- 2000
Gyorgy Molnar creates a vivid portrait of Central European village life in this broadly-rendered comedy. Ever since the family patriarch landed in the hospital, the Balogh clan has been loafing about. The mother is looking for extra-marital love with one and all, and her two teenaged daughters are equally hot to trot. The family's eldest son is a cow-herding space cadet. The clan is gamely doing their own thing until Pops returns from the hospital -- where everyone expected him to die. Soon the father is spreading mayhem with his bizarre, often drunken ways. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jozsef Szarvas, Juli Basti, (more)
- 1999
This sequel to Ferenc Grunwalsky's crime drama Little But Tough follows Bogar, the hero of the original film, as he heads home after a ten-year stretch in prison to find out what happened to the loot he left with his family for safekeeping. He quickly discovers his former accomplice has been terrorizing his sister and her husband, so Bogar sees the need to mete out some punishment. This film was shown as part of 1999's Hungarian Film Week Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandor Gaspar, Agnes Csere, (more)
- 1998
The title of this Hungarian comedy is a German pun on "room for rent" (Zimmer Feri). Near-broke and desperate, Hungarian entrepreneur Feri decides to put a sleazy spin on tourism. After leasing a Lake Balaton boarding house, he moves in his gang -- wife, nephew, daughter, and the daughter's boyfriend -- and then sets out to scam unsuspecting German tourists. Written and directed by Peter Timor (Dollybirds). This film is also known as Feri's Gang. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabor Reviczky, Judith Pogany, (more)
- 1997
Based on a short story by American author Shirley Jackson, this convoluted mystery is a puzzler's delight. It is the story of an elderly woman's almost supernatural journey back into her past. The elderly woman is a strong-willed professor who leaves her family one day to visit an old friend. But what starts out as a normal journey soon becomes a voyage into the unknown when she loses her way and boards a bus driven by an uncaring driver and filled with stone-faced apathetic passengers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
This Eastern European political drama (also known as "The Section") chronicles a woman who willingly and without question accepts the unjust punishment of her superiors. The film is set during the 1980s in an unnamed Eastern European country. The protagonist is Gizi Weiss, an attractive middle-aged office worker who suddenly finds herself "promoted" after another worker exchanges her new desk lamp for his old one. He tells her that she won't be needing it anymore. He is correct and her boss confirms this telling her that she is to be transferred to a new outpost where she will be heading a new "section." She is escorted to her new post by a man who also inspects her belongings. So remote is her new outpost, she must take a handcar to get to the trail that leads to the one room shack she will be calling home. There she meets her "co-worker," a man half-insane from his isolation. He will not talk to her. The irony is that Gizi has been so effectively indoctrinated that she does not realize she is being punished. She cheerfully accepts the injustice of her new, harsh existence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Hungarian troops assisted the troops of the U.S.S.R. in suppressing the brief flowering of freedom which took place in Prague in 1968. In this story, Feri is a soldier with the Hungarian Army during that time. He has an adventure with Jula (a lovely young barmaid) while in Czechoslovakia and decides to bring her back to Hungary with him. However, that doesn't quite seem to fit his idea of what he wants, so he turns his tank around and heads to Vienna with it. This action is not viewed with favor by his superiors in the military, and he spends the next twenty years in prison. On his release, he discovers that Jula has had a son, Lali, and has married Tomka, one of his old buddies. When Feri comes visiting, waving a gun around, Tomka flees through the nearest window, and Feri and his newly discovered son Lali get acquainted while they search Budapest for the missing man. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jozsef Szarvas
- 1989
The Hungarian Az Uj Foldesur is based on the novel of the same name (English translation: The New Landlord) by Mor Jokai. In the days of the Austro-Hungarian empire, an Austrian general (Imre Sinkovits) assumes command of a dissention-ridden Hungarian community. Essentially a man of peace, the general tries to close old wounds by offering his daughter in marriage to the son of a local aristocrat. The girl (Aniko Fur), who already has a lover, bristles at this arrangement. The boy (Laszlo Sinko), who has lost his memory during a recent military action, has no idea what he really wants out of life. There's really no telling how this will end, so your attention is bound to be riveted to the screen throughout. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Imre Sinkovits, Jozsef Szarvas, (more)
