Hungarian Attorney General caught amid web of scandal!
No wait! That's not taken from the headlines. It's just one way to describe Istvan Szabo's new film Rokonok.
Up and coming Hungarian actor Sandor Csanyi (who starred in last year's "Kontroll" and the upcoming "Just Sex and Nothing Else") plays the newly appointed attorney general Istvan Kopjass, who suspiciously finds on the day of his appointment, a whole new set of distant relatives, all of whom want some sort of political favor.
The film is based on a novel written by Zsigmond Moricz, which was filmed once before in 1954. Then, as now, Hungary was in political turmoil. Back in '54 when the novel was written it could have been seen as an attack on the Soviet led Communist government in Hungary. Today it plays as an attack on all politicians. Of course the recent news about Prime Minister Gyurcsany doesn't help matters much either.
Szabo, who is the only Hungarian director to have won an Academy Award back in 1981 for his film "Mephisto", is working with one of his favorite themes. The corruption power can bring and the moral responsibility that comes with power. Unlike his trilogy of doomed figures in historic times ("Mephisto", "Colonel Redl" and "Hanussen") Szabo approaches this material as comedy. The film is mostly concerned with getting laughs and visual eye candy.
The cinematography by longtime Szabo regular Lajos Koltai gives the film an old-fashioned look. The film is suppose to take place during the 1930s. The film displays a wonderful use of bright colors, yet despite the color, I felt a hint of nostalgia.
The performances are quite effective as well. Csanyi, who is something of a heartthrob in Hungary, displays an impressive range. He exhibits a good gift for comedy. He mostly plays the part straight, never relying upon broad comedic slapstick gestures. By playing it straight Csanyi makes the part even funnier. This allows the audience the slight chance to accept his character and the situation as possible.
Ildiko Toth is the moral center of the film as she tries to keep Kopjass grounded and warns him to watch the people around him. Her performance contradicts Csanyi in this sense. Csanyi is more free and loose where Toth is more reserved and restricted.
It's hard to say how most audience members will react to this film. Casual moviegoers may like it. The audience I saw this film with at the Chicago International Film Festival seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. It was a packed house. Hardcore Szabo fans may complain the film doesn't dwell deep enough into Kopjass dilemma and make use of all the psychological undertones that could have been. But, to view the film in that context I think is a mistake. Only because Szabo doesn't seem interested in that aspect with this film. Szabo simply wanted to make something lighthearted and for that you can't hold it against him. The film accomplishes what it set out to do.
