Közgáz Vízuális Brigád

Underrated in light of its current (February 4, 2007) IMDb score of 6.4, this film reminded me of what Joseph Heller's 'Something Happened' could look like if a film was to be made out of it. Our middle-aged character's life is in a fragile balance at the start and soon that balance will, of course, be disturbed. Even without much in the way of drama at first, an at times nightmarish reality intermingles with nightmares, and, typically for a movie from this region, state bureaucracy and the absurdities of a semi-legal order play a role in moving developments along. So what is it that awaits our hero down the informal road he is officially sent? Complete deconstruction? Or the 'unbearable lightness of being'? If you give the movie the time to unfold, it will reward you revealing an entertaining concept by the end.

Feri is forty-eight years old, twenty-six of which he has worked as a trainee in a screw factory. Workers' spirit, workers' choir, football matches. He's in good shape, though he's put on a little weight, he doesn't go bald, he's a big talker and considers himself a great ladies' man, even though he only used to go for Gizika, the storekeeper, in the factory days. His wife of twenty-six years is Joli, a year older than him. A perpetually dissatisfied woman with a headache. In her heyday, she was an administrator at KÖJÁL, but was demoted because of her diabetes. His hobbies include crocheting, crossword puzzles and long TV series, which he and his girlfriend, hairdresser Icu, regularly discuss. On that particular Saturday morning, when Feri was going fishing and Joli was about to cook stuffed chicken for their wedding anniversary, they had no idea that their lives would change so much that afternoon. This is where our story really begins.

The main character of our story is János, 18 years old in 1944, preparing for his final exams. In March, the Germans occupy the country, and the exams are moved forward — some even have to take them wearing the yellow star. Meanwhile, at the Parliament Café, he is training to be an assistant firefighter and meets one of the bread girls, Nusi.

A delicious meal, reminiscent of old times, is presented to two people. They understand each other, even without words.