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Reviews
Kút (2016)
Like a Hungarian Western
A gas station in the middle of nowhere, Hungarian puszta, Australian outback, American prairie.
Sleepy and nothing much happens till a broke down camper arrives with fleeing prostitutes on their way to the West.
All so lazy until the bad men arrive and then it becomes escalating mayhem ...
Indeed the violence escalates to Tarantino levels, but always with a deft touch of comedy.
It was a really enjoyable experience, with good cinematography and direction.
Was it derivative, of course. Remenicent of early John Carpenter movies.
Watched at the time in smallest movie house in Budapest, but I bought it this Summer on DVD and will re-watch soon !
Faustus doktor boldogságos pokoljárása (1984)
Miklós Jancsó TV series
Based on the Faust theme this 10 episode series follows the protagonist as a young man from the end of WW2, the rise of Stalinism in Hungary, the 1956 uprising, '60s liberal communism, to an untimely death in boating accident on lake Balaton.
While the protagonist doesn't exactly sell his soul to the devil there is a constant theme of compromise to a regime which in 1984 still put constraints on freedoms of expression.
Directed by the most renowned Hungarian auteur of all time it makes the most of the small screen and limited budget, and I'd put it on par with Reitz's "Heimat" and Fassbinder's "Berlin Alexanderplatz" as required viewing.
I first saw it as a full day screening at London's British Film Institute around 1986, when someone troubled to give it English subtitles.
Having contacts within Hungarian MTV archives I managed to get a personal burn onto DVDs and re-watched recently, but sadly there is no way for the public to watch this essential drama even in its native country ...