BUDAPEST NOIR
Hungary, 2017, 95 minutes, Colour.
Krisztian Kolovratnik, Reka Tenki.
Directed by Eva Gardos
This film lives up to its title. It is a thriller, set in Budapest in 1936, a journalist doing investigations, the seedy world of crime, reaching to higher places, unravelling the mystery, not without touches of sex and violence.
The film highlights the political situation in Hungary by the mid 1930s, the growing closeness to Hitler and the Nazi regime in Berlin. The situation for the plot is the death of a young woman in the streets, it emerging that she is a prostitute, but has quite a personal story with repercussions.
The press man is tipped off by the police, is aided by a woman with whom he had a relationship and who is a top photographer, interviewing police, getting tips about a brothel and interviewing the Madam, finding political connections to the brothel as well as the connection to the dead woman.
The ideological themes continue throughout the film, especially with the photographer antipathetic to the Nazis and discovering the concentration camps, seeing some young louts attack a singer of Jewish songs in a restaurant, daring to take photos of them.
The press man follows the leads, discovers the truth about the young woman, finds a political connection, the fact that she was engaged to the son of a rabbi, the stances of her wealthy coffee-importer father.
Which leads to the press man confronting the father and the revelation of the truth. With some melodramatic consequences.
An entertaining variation on the noir but also an interesting step back into the atmosphere of pre-war Hungary.
1. The title? Audience expectations, the Noir style, subjects, investigation and methods, tough, the world of crime, partners? The parallels with the films of the 1940s? 21st-century interpretation of the style?
2. 1936, the death of the head of state, the background of the move to Fascism, collaboration with the German government, Nazi philosophy? Anti-Semitism? The arrival of the coffin, the media, the tributes? Providing an ideological perspective to the film?
3. The city of Budapest, the range of views, the streets, travelling in trams, police precincts, political venues, the brothel and its interiors, restaurants, workplaces, boxing centres? The musical score?
4. Zsigmond Gordon, the introduction, the political atmosphere of the time, his working for the press, his connections, the police chief and the past exposure of corruption? At the restaurant, being approached by the young woman, lighting the cigarette, her leaving the bill with him? The note? The air of mystery?
5. His contacts, going home with the girl, the sexual encounter? Krisztina arriving? The past relationship, her disappearance, going to Berlin? Photographer?
6. At work, the information about the dead girl? The role of the press, the information from the police, taking Krisztina, her taking the photos, her skills?
7. The background of the brothel, the information, the visit, the range of girls and their clients, politicians and the comment about upper-class and riffraff, the catalogues and photos, the photographer and his connections? The madam, the interview with her, her giving information?
8. Krisztina, with a camera, at the bar, the singer and the Jewish songs, the young men protesting, her taking the photos, getting in the taxi, the pursuit, getting out and hiding, the manoeuvres of the taxi driver? Her daring with photos, hiding, the signal, turning on the car lights, photos, the identification of the Communist and his return to Budapest?
9. The photographer, the visit to his office, the atmosphere, the mannequins, Zsigmond knocked out, finding the photographer murdered, his cigarette lighter used as evidence against him?
10. His being bashed, identifying the fighter, going to the bout, wanting information, the boxer’s daughter, wearing the dead woman’s scarf? The boxer killing the young woman and stealing from her?
11. The issue of the clothes, the information about the dressmaker, the posing as husband-and-wife for an order, Zsigmond searching, finding the information and the photo, the employment card, Is Going to the archives, his help from the tough woman at the office, spending the hours searching the papers, finding the photo, identifying the murdered woman?
12. The murdered woman, her story, affluent parents, in love with a Jewish man, son of a rabbi, the father organising his transfer to the United States, the stubbornness, leaving home, pregnant, the pimps, working as a prostitute at the brothel?
13. Krisztina developing the photos, Zsigmond and his attraction, their affair? The offer from London, for an exhibition of photos, the ideology, wanting Zygmunt to help her and her choice? On the train, his proposal?
14. Zygmunt, going to the home of the coffee importer, the confrontation, the truth, his Jewish background, marriage, finance, fear, the wife, her being upset, shooting her husband? Zsigmond writing that it was a suicide?
15. Krisztina leaving, Zsigmond going to the station, seeing her on the train, her leaving?
16. The popular ingredients of the film noir and transferring it, in a 21st-century film, to the 1930s.
