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Divided into two different halves separated by mood and subject matter, this is an uneven drama about the experience of one Hungarian Jew before and during the fascist takeover of Budapest. The hero Pali (Zoltan Bezeredi) arrives back in Budapest from the U.S. and meanders among the intellectual and social elite before he leaves for a brief stay in England. There he has an even briefer affair with a happy-go-lucky aspiring actress (Anna Kubik), and after a few other encounters with movie mavens, he heads back to Budapest -- quite inexplicably. The rest of the film deteriorates into a dark realm of hatred and violence.
Director
Screenplay
Status
Released
Original Language
HU

A Hungarian family forced to flee the Communist country for the United States must leave a young daughter behind. Six years later, the family arranges to bring the absent daughter to the United States where she has trouble adjusting. The daughter then decides to travel to Budapest to discover her identity.

A Hungarian youth comes of age at Buchenwald during World War II. György Köves is 14, the son of a merchant who's sent to a forced labor camp. After his father's departure, György gets a job at a brickyard; his bus is stopped and its Jewish occupants sent to camps. There, György find camaraderie, suffering, cruelty, illness, and death. He hears advice on preserving one's dignity and self-esteem. He discovers hatred. If he does survive and returns to Budapest, what will he find? What is natural; what is it to be a Jew? Sepia, black and white, and color alternate to shade the mood.