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Magyar magic
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A package of Hungarian films will be presented at the weeklong Trivandrum International Film Festival, beginning August 1.
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BEING A Hungarian was once a matter of pride in Hollywood.
From Michael Curtiz (`Casablanca') to the Korda brothers and Adolph Zuker (founder of the Paramount Studios), Hungarians had made it big in the mecca of mainstream cinema, much to the envy of the Americans. Unable to contain their jealousy, the Yanks had even put up a sign above the MGM commissary that read, "Just because you're a Hungarian, it doesn't mean you're genius!"
Back home, the Hungarians were equally good at Hollywood- bashing. The films the Magyars made, through studios such as Budapest, Dialog, Hunnia and Objectiv, challenged the styles of filmmaking that Beverly Hills fashioned, the cliches and the shrewd marketing strategies.
A package of Hungarian works that represent this alternative stream of filmmaking is being presented at the weeklong Trivandrum International Film Festival, beginning August 1.
The older films of the lot are Peter Bacso's `What is the time, Mr. Clock?' and Pal Erdoss' `The Princess'.
Bacso's film (screened many times earlier by film societies in the State), an allegory on authoritarianism, focuses on the life of Arpad Weiskopf, a clockmaker. He is called `Mr. Clock' because he can always tell the right time sans the aid of a clock. There are clocks of various shapes and sizes in his workshop and as they chime, in differing tones, the movie revels in symbolism. It gives depth to the discourse and shows how the filmmaker places the story against a wider historical and philosophical point of view.
Time is running out for the hero, who faces death penalty. Black humour is at its best in a scene where he meets the Gestapo chief.
"Tell me a joke," the chief orders.
As Mr. Clock obediently narrates one and breaks into laughter, the chief's face crinkles into a frown. An eerie silence engulfs the room. This scene, subtly enacted, is enough to convey the entire horrors of the war.
Symbolism and allegory have been powerful tools in the hands of the Hungarians. Following the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising, hundreds of Hungarians were reportedly massacred or imprisoned. The film industry, under Janos Kadar's new government, ran like a well-organised Hollywood studio. However, the new socio-political climate was stifling. And to tell the truth, the filmmakers had to resort to allegory and symbolism.
The organisers are also trying to get Istvan Szabo's `Taking Sides', which is set in Berlin towards the end of the Second World War.
Among the other contemporary films in the package are Sas Tamas' `Down by Love', Gabor Dettre's `Cloud above the River Ganges', Zoltan Kamondi's `Temptations' and Peter Bacso's `Smouldering Cigarette'. Except the last film, which is set in 1942, the rest tell modern tales.
"We want our films to be completely different from those of Jancso, Szabo, Elek and Rosza. Our aim is to hold a mirror to contemporary realities," Diana Groosys, a young Hungarian director, was quoted as saying.
And, with the socio-political changes that began in the 1990s, Hungary has been caught between conservative ideology and free market reforms.
McDonalds and Burger King have replaced some of the old-style coffee houses. A part of the Nugatyi train station in central Budapest has been converted into what is now the largest McDonalds shop in Hungary.
Even the Hungarian Telephone Corporation has been sold to an Austrian company.
The greatest challenge before contemporary Hungarian cinema is to reflect these realities and its socio-economic implications.
K.S
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