Popular cinema in Hungary

Are there any Hungarian films worth seeing?

Popular cinema in Hungary

Hungarian filmmaking seems to face a resurrection these days, thus the answer to the above question is a definite yes; there are Hungarian movies definitely worth seeing. Just like there have always been. Before the Communist era Hungary had a number of highly entertaining movies. There was, for example, "Meseautó" or "Hyppolit a lakáj" (both with Gyula Kabos). Unfortunately, such movies vanished shortly after World War II, and from then on, for about 40 years, there are barely any films without Communist propaganda or ideological agenda. (One could mention "A tanú" from 1969, and "Abigél" from 1978, as exceptions). And after the transition in 1989, we had to wait for another 10 years for the first non-post-Communist movies to appear. But fortunately there are more and more "popular" films these days. At first, most directors have experience in showing everyday life during the Communist era in a "fun" way, through its more memorable moments. (If you are interested in this genre, "Csocsó", and most films by Róbert Koltai would probably be good choices). Then came the remakes, for example the two titles mentioned above, Meseautó and Hyppolit. Despite not being as good as the originals, they mark a change of perspective in Hungarian filmmaking, shifting from the Communist past towards the "here and now". The breakthrough was "Valami Amerika" by Gábor Herendi in 2001: this was the first movie to be seen by masses in theater after a long time. Original and funny, this film was a milestone, a good example for future films. I should definitely also mention "Kontroll," even though it is an example of Hungarian directors believing blindly in "art" cinema. And lately, "Fej vagy írás" came out, another comedy with many young, popular Hungarian actors and actresses such as Csaba Pindroch and Zita Görög. So Hungarian cinema is far from being dead quite on the contrary, popular filmmaking might experience a renaissance in the coming years. N. Life in Budapest Traditional gypsy music in Budapest Learning languages in Hungary Hungarians learning Spanish Hungarian wages Hungarian salaries Hungarian attitudes towards Gypsies Austria from Hungary Gypsy stereotypes in Hungary Getting a job in Hungary Foreign language bookstores in Budapest Creative competition in Budapest during the war Bird flu strain in Hungary Foreign languages in Hungary Winter sports in Budapest Traditional Gypsy music in Budapest Beggars in Budapest Gypsies in Hungarian media