Ildikó Bánsági Movies

A nation whose dreams of freedom have been crushed meet their rivals on a different field of battle in this drama inspired by a true story. In 1956, Karcsi Szabo (Ivan Fenyo) was a star athlete at the University of Budapest and had been named captain of the national water polo team than would represent Hungary in the Olympics held that summer in Australia. However, many of Szabo's countrymen had more on their minds; Hungary had fallen under the oppressive rule of the Soviet Union, and a growing number of Hungarians were demanding independence. One day, Szabo and his friend Tibi (Sándor Csányi) witness a demonstration led by Viki Falk (Kata Dobó) demanding an end to Soviet rule in Hungary. While initially Szabo is more attracted to Falk's beauty than her message, through his attempts to woo her he is awakened to the need for revolution; however, an uprising by the people is crushed by the Soviet war machine, and matters become worse for the Hungarian people. When Szabo and his teammates discover that Hungary will be competing against the U.S.S.R. in the men's Water Polo tournament at the upcoming Olympics, they see an opportunity for a symbolic victory over their oppressors . . . if they will be allowed to leave to country to compete. Szabadsag Szerelem (aka Children of Glory) was based on the true story of Hungary's 1956 water polo victory over the Soviet Union in what has been described as the most violent match in the history of the sport; the documentary Freedom's Fury offers a factual perspective on the same event. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Eight master directors of world cinema combine forces for this omnibus film that focuses cumulatively on the subject of time. Bookended by cello interludes, Ten Minutes Older: The Cello presents just one parameter to each of its filmmakers: no final entry can be more or less than ten minutes long. The resulting films run the gamut of styles and moods, beginning with Bernardo Bertolucci's Histoire d'Eaux, which presents an Indian fable about a mentor's impatience. In Mike Figgis' entry About Time 2, the director continues with the experimental structure he pioneered in Timecode; similarly, Jean-Luc Godard uses his time allotment to present a fractured series of clips on youth, death, and love. Another non-narrative entry, Volker Schlöndorff's The Enlightenment presents a series of images on racism. Claire Denis' effort Vers Nancy chronicles a philosophical discussion on time between a teacher and student on a train ride; in Jirí Menzel's Ten Minutes After, the effects of time on aging Czech actor Rudolf Hrusinsky are documented. In perhaps the film's most narrative-oriented segment, director Michael Radford offers up a sci-fi vision of an astronaut returning to earth to find that his son has aged faster than he has. Ten Minutes Older: The Cello is a companion piece to 2002's Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet, which aired in the U.S. on the Showtime cable network. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Made by Hungarian filmmaker Istvan Szabo as an entry in the Scottish BBC television series Director's Place -- a program devoted to offering insightful self-portraits of the world's great filmmakers -- this highly symbolic venture is more subtle than other entries in that it focuses not on Szabo directly but rather upon the historical events that shaped his life and viewpoint. The film begins in 1938 the of Szabo's birth and is largely comprised of documentary footage shot in Budapest's Hero Square from that point to the present. Many of the images, ie film reels being hacked apart with an axe to symbolize censorship, are quite metaphorical. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Visions of living the good life are sufficiently compelling for Anita and Sylvia that they are prepared to overlook the fact that Laci is a decidedly creepy man. Instead, they head off to Vienna with him, expecting almost anything but what they find, which to work for cash at a crummy strip joint, looking over their shoulders for the cops. For a short while, Anita and Laci are an item, but Laci is too unstable for any relationship with him to last long. After they break up, Sylvia goes missing and leaves behind all sorts of loose ends that Anita has to unravel. Is there something sinister at work here, or did Sylvia just decide to go back home suddenly? ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

When Hungary's newest prime minister is shot and killed at a reception, the resulting investigation is necessarily swift and comprehensive. This compelling political thriller uncovers two prime suspects: the woman who guns the leader down, and a man who was friends with both the prime minister and his murderer. Using video surveillance footage, as well as other more artful and symbolic imagery, the noted "visualist" director Miklos Jancso, who is known for his craft in getting his points across non-verbally, combines fantasy and reality in a highly ironic manner. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This is the third of the very autobiographical and very anti-communist "diary" movies made by noted Hungarian woman director Marta Meszaros. Since it takes up where the second film left off, it is helpful to have seen the previous films in order to make sense of the story. Set in Budapest in 1956, it chronicles the events leading up to and following a brief anti-Soviet insurrection, and it particularly follows the career of her aunt's lover, Janos (Jan Nowicki) who was active in the uprising. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, Istvan Szabo's Hanussen centers on an Austrian soldier (Klaus Maria Brandauer) who becomes clairvoyant after he is shot in the head during World War I. He is able to read minds and predict the future. Before long, he has foreseen Hitler and the Nazis' rise to power, and he soon finds himself in danger. Hanussen is the third of Szabo and Brandauer's collaborations, following Mephisto and Colonel Redl. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

A busy family communicates with one another by leaving written notes in between their various responsibilities in this somber drama. Peti Kalmar (Simon G. Gevai) is a young teenage son who skips school and observes the world through a hidden telescope from his closet. His father is a businessman and his mother a tour guide. Peti observes his father having a fling with his mistress and suspects his mother is in love with the local physician. His older sister Mari (Kati Lajtai) tries to kill herself after the death of her grandmother. After taking a day off from work and school, the dysfunctional family once again returns to their individual routine. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Although its title may sound like a children's story, this finely-tuned comedy-drama is about an expert watchmaker in a small Hungarian village during World War II when the Gestapo come in to run the affairs of the town. The watchmaker Arpad (Tamas Jordan) is known as "Mr. Clock" because he has the rare talent of being able to tell the exact time of day or night without looking at a timepiece. After the Germans take over the village, their Gestapo chief, who has a large collection of clocks, becomes friendly with the watchmaker. That friendship is doubly dangerous because Arpad is Jewish. Before long, several local authorities are arrested, along with a Hungarian colonel, many ordinary citizens, and the watchmaker himself. A scheme is afoot to spring the colonel from prison, but since the prisoners have all been stripped of their watches, the success of the clockwork escape plan depends solely on Arpad's uncanny ability. The original actor cast as Arpad, Lajos Oze, one of Hungary's most accomplished thespians, died before this film was completed, and he was replaced by Tamas Jordan, in a topnotch performance. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Brady (John Savage) is an American bomber pilot during World War II. While flying over Nazi-occupied Hungary, Brady and his navigator, Swede (Matyas Usztic), are forced to bail out. The good news is that they don't fall into the hands of the Germans; the bad news is that they're captured by a nomadic tribe who hate Americans and Germans with equal fervor. Fortunately, the nomads agree to hide the wounded pilots from the enemy. Though Swede dies, Brady assimilates himself into rural Hungarian society, falling in love with Klara (Ildikó Bánsági) and virtually adopting war orphan Miki (Kelly Reno). The last reels of the film are devoted to Brady's efforts to escape Hungary and join the Yugoslav partisans. This pulse-pounding actioner was released in England as The Long Ride. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on Klaus Mann's novel, Mephisto details the rise of a Faustian character who figuratively sells his soul in exchange for greatness. Hendrik Hofgen (Klaus Maria Brandauer, offering an electric performance) is the star of a state-funded theater department who tires of his job. Like his friends, he pays lip service to socialist ideals fashionable for artists of his time -- that is, until the Nazis rise to power. He then sees an opportunity to achieve his objective of fame: he will perform propaganda plays and thereby use the Nazis as a vehicle to spread his name across the country -- only too late does he realize his mistake. This well-adapted version of the book featured the first teaming of Brandauer with director Istvan Szabo; they would later reunite to make Colonel Redl and Hanussen. Brandauer first gained attention in the U.S. after the film's release and would be cast as the villain in Never Say Never Again as a result. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

Hungarian director Istvan Szabó's 1976 feature Budapest Tales (AKA Budapesti mesék) unfolds in a purely allegorical, dreamlike realm, rich with indigenous symbolism. Following some great catastrophic onslaught - its exact nature unknown - a number of individuals emerge from hiding and discover a dilapidated old trolley car awash on a river bank. They instinctively begin loading all of their worldly goods onto the vehicle and pushing it along its tracks, destination unknown. In time, even the concept of a destination becomes secondary to the trek itself, and a number of key events befall the passenger/participants: a few lose all energy and fall by the wayside; the travelers run headfirst into a river that runs across a section of track, and must break the trolley down and move the pieces across, one at a time; occasional accidents and calamities arise, including the arrival of brigands. The life cycle, however, continues unabated: while one of the passengers dies, sacrificing his own life to ensure the continuation of the journey, a woman on board gives birth to twins. In time, the passengers (who have painted the trolley yellow and designated it with the number '1') enter the vicinity of a massive city, and discover that theirs is only one of a large number of indistinguishable trolleys approaching the metropolis. Many critics read Budapest Tales as a metaphor for the post-WWII history of Hungary; its overall reception was somewhat poor. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide