reiher@amethyst.jpl.nasa.gov (Peter Reiher) (06/12/89)
A HUNGARIAN FAIRY TALE
A film review by Peter Reiher
Copyright 1989 Peter Reiher
A HUNGARIAN FAIRY TALE harkens back to those halcyon days of foreign film
intellectualism, the 1960's, when no self-respecting intellectual would be
found without an opinion on the latest Godard film, or a preference for either
Fellini or Bergman. Those were the days of really foreign foreign films, films
which challenged the intellect and amazed the eye. They also had a certain
heaviness, sometimes to the point of indigestibility. At their best, they
were bold and challenging. At their worst, they were dull and pretentious.
A HUNGARIAN FAIRY TALE is reminiscent of that sort of film, but
unfortunately, not in the best sense. It's obscure, but not very deep. It has
the requisite level of difficulty and heaviness for a 60's European film, but
it isn't very satisfying. Director Gyula Gazdag has taken an interesting
premise, started out on a cinematic journey, but then taken a dive into
shallow, but murky, intellectual waters. The resulting film has some fine
moments, but fails to move or provoke.
The premise of the film derives from a Gilbert and Sullivan-style
Hungarian law, still on the books. All Hungarian children must have an
official father. If no father is known, one is created. Thus, some
illegitimate children have fictional fathers, with fictional addresses and
occupations, on their birth certificates. Gazdag looks at such a child, and
examines what might happen if he suddenly lost his mother before discovering
that his supposed father doesn't exist at all.
In some senses, this is a terrific premise. I can easily imagine a fine
comedy, or suspense film, taking its starting point from here. Taking the film
in one of these directions would not lead to much depth, but could be fun. On
the other hand, this premise could equally well serve as a jumping off point
into a serious examination of the nature of reality, or into totalitarian
suppression of truth, or into the roles of fathers and sons. Or one can
imagine a realistic social drama of a child on his own in a difficult society.
At first, this latter appears to be what Gazdag is up to. But the
continued intercutting of the boy's plight with the activities of the clerk who
originally invented his father indicates that something more is going on. This
clerk suddenly decides to destroy all of the records of children who he has
supplied fictitious fathers to. We see a bit of the boy's story, told in a
fairly realistic manner, then some rather odd behavior from the clerk, then
we're back to the boy. Eventually the stories come together, and the movie
comes apart. Gazdag suddenly breaks into surrealistic symbolism and confusing
fantasy.
Perhaps all of this symbolism and oddity makes sense to Hungarians. It
made little sense to me. Its only value seemed to be unpredicatability.
Surprises and twists are all well and good, but they work best when, in
retrospect, they make sense. Those in A HUNGARIAN FAIRY TALE do not. They
seem arbitrary, suggesting a writer who didn't know how to end his script.
In many ways, A HUNGARIAN FAIRY TALE goes downhill. The opening sequence
features excellent photography, both technically and artistically. The last
shot is a standardly composed, poorly executed special effect. The story-
telling is initially unusually elliptical, yet logical. By the end, the
method has become quite conventional, while at the same time displaying no
logic worth mentioning. The use of music from Mozart's THE MAGIC FLUTE early
in the film is much more effective than its overuse at the end of the film.
One element that remains strong throughout the film is the performance by
David Vermes as the boy. Vermes had never been in a film before, but he
delivers a strong performance. As other writers have mentioned, he looks
remarkably like a young, blond Marlon Brando, and he has some of the intensity
of Brando, as well. The other performances in the film are capable.
One point in the film's favor, for me at least, is that it is in black and
white. Black and white photography can achieve some remarkable effects, and
has a mood all its own, that even the best color photography cannot duplicate.
A HUNGARIAN FAIRY TALE has very fine photography, especially in the early part
of the film. Cinematographer Elemer Ragalyi composes and lights shots
beautifully. Unfortunately, by the end of the film his creativity was either
exhausted or suppressed.
Gazdag has said, as have many other directors, that his films should speak
for themselves. A HUNGARIAN FAIRY TALE mumbles, or perhaps speaks only
Hungarian. In its more coherent moments, it has great beauty. Its decline
into incomprehensibility is thus all the more regrettable.
Peter Reiher
reiher@amethyst.jpl.nasa.gov
(DO NOT send to reiher@amethyst.uucp)
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