The Notebook

The Notebook 2013

6.60

In a village on the Hungarian border, two young brothers grow up during war time with their cruel grandmother and must learn every trick of evil to survive in the absurd world of adults.

2013

Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg

Good Evening, Mr. Wallenberg 1990

6.10

Swedish account of Raoul Wallenberg, the man responsible for the largest rescue of Jews during World War II.

1990

Adoption

Adoption 1975

6.80

When middle-aged Kata realises that her life will only be complete if she has a baby of her own, her longstanding-but-married boyfriend Joska refuses to comply. But by developing an unlikely friendship with the angst-ridden teenage orphan Anna, who is also involved in a controversial relationship, Kata discovers aspects of herself, and her role as a woman, that have gone unexamined throughout her entire, lonely life.

1975

Germinal

Germinal 1963

7.40

Dismissed from the railroads in 1863 for his union activities, Etienne Lantier found a job at the Voreux coal mine. But work was hard, wages were low and safety left much to be desired. Lantier tried to organize the miners into a union. When mine manager Hennebeau refused to negotiate, the workers launched a general strike, which ended with the intervention of the troops.

1963

Nine Months

Nine Months 1976

6.20

Juli, who works in a brick factory, begins a romantic relationship with her boss, to whom she hides the fact that she has a son.

1976

Two Half-Times in Hell

Two Half-Times in Hell 1961

7.70

To celebrate Hitler's birthday, a soccer match is organised between the Germans and a group of Hungarian political prisoners, one of whom is a famous pre-war football star.

1961

Meteo

Meteo 1990

6.80

Eckermann (Laszlo Kistamas) is a listless computer whiz who spends most of his time lounging in a bathtub holding imaginary conversations with cartoon characters usually more popular with children than grownups. He has some friends who want to use his skills to steal some money from a local gambling joint. He works out a scheme for his friends and returns to his tub. At some point along the way, he is joined in the water by a lovely Czech refugee, who (perhaps inadvertently) makes it possible for him to die there.

1990

Fourteen Lives

Fourteen Lives 1954

1

September 1952 in a mine in Northern-Hungary after an explosion water breaks in from the neighbouring shaft and fourteen miners become trapped. The whole country unites to save them.

1954

The Deserters

The Deserters 1986

7.20

Set in military barracks in a small town during World War I. The soldiers herded in the barracks are 'politically suspect' mix of characters from all over of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: Czechs, Jews, and even Italians, but officers in charge are Germans. A new lieutenant arrives with the mission to bring order to the unit. He is the sadist, enjoying humiliating the men. Fed up with his behaviour the lower ranks kidnap him one night and string him up in a public toilet. They also make sure that he fouls up during the inspection. Eventually the five ring leaders are imprisoned. They escape and end up in Budapest posing as guards as guards of veterinary surgeons. They are caught and sent back to face a court martial and their old tormentor.

1986

Chico

Chico 2001

5.50

The adventures of a young man as he moves from the Latin-American revolutions in the sixties and seventies, through Hungary in the eighties, to the Croatian war in 1991.

2001

Egy szoknya, egy nadrág

Egy szoknya, egy nadrág 1943

8.00

When the actress he loves seems to be infatuated with a frivolous count, an actor disguises himself as the count's real interest, a wealthy Spanish woman whom the count has never seen before but wants to hoodwink into marrying him.

1943

Alraune

Alraune 1918

1

It is a variation on the original legend of Alraune in which a Mad Scientist creates a beautiful but demonic child from the forced union between a woman and a Mandrake root. Not to be confused with the 1918 German version of Alraune.

1918

Narcissus and Psyche

Narcissus and Psyche 1980

6.50

Narcisus and Psyche is based on a novel by Sandor Weores which was adapted by Vilmos Csaplar and director Gabor Body for a feature-length film. Borrowing the character of Psyche from mythology and placing her in Europe in the 19th century, the authors give her a "modern" life. She is an attractive young woman - and remains so throughout the film, in spite of one hardship after another. Psyche is libidinous, and her prurient interests shock her staid contemporaries.

1980

Don't Keep Off the Grass

Don't Keep Off the Grass 1960

1

Daddy Kárász, the stakhanovist worker, complains in a television interview about the fact that his family, consisting of many members, cannot get a home on their own. Kéri, the chairman of the local authority, promises to help him on the condition that if he does not, they may move in to his villa at elegant Pasarét. Nothing happens, therefore the Kárász family takes Kéri by his word. From this time on, tumultuous scenes and frequent quarrels take place in the villa between the two families.

1960

Just Like at Home

Just Like at Home 1978

3.00

On his return from America, András simply cannot find his place: he has lost his wife, friends and job, and he cannot even find his way back to his former great love. Eventually, as a surrogate father, he takes in a wild young girl (Zsuzsa Czinkóczi) and a particularly strong bond is formed between these two rootless people. Márta Mészáros’s remarkable movie starring Jan Nowicki and Anna Karina is about displacement, loneliness and attachment.

1978

The Trumpeter

The Trumpeter 1979

1

In the late 17th century, Hungary moved from Turkish to Austrian domination, becoming a key part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In this story, which takes place shortly after that time, three outlaws murder a group of people on their way to a wedding. One young man was a slave travelling with the group to entertain them with his skills as a trumpeter. The outlaws spare him for the same reason. He allows himself to believe that they are really an unattached group of independence-fighters, but after seeing their brutal and callous ways, he cannot believe that they are good men, and he turns them in to the authorities. At that point, he is unnerved to discover how nobly they bear the rigors of captivity. ~

1979

Budapest Tales

Budapest Tales 1977

6.00

"Budapest Tales" is about a group of people (consisting of Szabo regular Andras Balint along with Ildiko Bansagi and Karoly Kovacs) who find a broken down tram while trying to go to the city. The people band together and try to get the tram back on the train tracks and head towards the city. Along this journey the passengers encounter many people who join them on the tram. What started out as only a handful of people has now turned into a small village. As the people travel on to the city each person takes on certain roles and through the course of time these roles will change. Some people fall in love, others out of love, and a few even die. But life goes on. The people keep the tram going hoping to reach Budapest.

1977

The Golden Head

The Golden Head 1964

5.30

Stevenson, the famous English criminal expert visits Hungary with his family. While he is chairing a conference on criminology, infamous art treasure robbers steal the golden herm of Saint László. Suspicion is cast on the Stevenson children.

1964

Miss Arizona

Miss Arizona 1988

5.60

Story of the owners (Mastroianni and Schygulla) of a fancy nightclub in Budapest before and during WWII.

1988