We present
Essential Killing, a Polish-Norwegian-Irish-Hungarian co-production which tells the story of a Taliban rebel taken prisoner of war by American soldiers in Afghanistan and now transported to a secret European military base. He manages to escape on the way, but has to fight hard for the survival on the enemy’s territory. The Polish cult director,
Jerzy Skolimowski refuses to highlight the political or ideological theme in his film despite the Islamic-Western conflict underlying the basic situation.
Essentiai Killing is an existentialist drama where a totally abandoned prey is facing its hunters, and his mere survival is at stake. The leading role is surprisingly played by the American
Vincent Gallo, who gives a breathtaking performance as the numb rebel. Gallo gained the Best Actor award at the 2010 Venice Film Festival, while the film was offered the Special Jury Prize. The movie's Hungarian co-production partner is
Mythberg Films.
Morgen, a Romanian-Hungarian-French film in
Katapult Film’s co-production is about a store security guard in his fourties, who lives an eventless and rather grim life with his wife in Salonta, close to the Hungarian-Romanian border. One day, while fishing, he meets a Turkish man who is about to cross the border illegally to meet his son living in Germany. Though the two men speak different languages, they get to understand each other immediately. During their endless fight with corruption and bureaucracy, the weird couple gets into several humorous and exciting adventures. The lovely and touching film was awarded the Special Jury Prize at Locarno Film Festival. The director is Golden Palm-winner
Marian Crisan, the leading role is played by Transsylvanian-born actor-director,
András Hatházi and Hungarian director
Szabolcs Hajdu also appears in the film.
The Danish-Hungarian co-production
Juan is Mozart’s Don Giovanni in a 21st century context. The main character, Juan is a successful artist and an irresistible playboy, who seduces every woman on his way with his charm. A date that ends up in murder however forces Juan to run away, but the habitual womanizer fails to restrain his desires even during the manhunt. The film is directed by
Kaspar Holten, artistic director of the Royal Danish Opera, whose film début is a courageous undertaking, as the music and the plot of the original, almost two-hour long opera is condensed into a little more than 100 minutes. The movie, produced with the contribution of
Eurofilm Stúdió, was entirely shot in Budapest, and several Hungarian artists, ranging from stunts to cameraman, cooperated.
British pic
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll is also Hungarian-related, since the scenario is credited under
Paul Viragh, a scriptwriter by Hungarian origins. The movie adapts on screen the life of legendary Ian Dury who was an eminent figure of the British punk and new wave in the 70s. Dury, due to polio at an early age, was practically a cripple all his life, nevertheless, he is regarded as one of the most charismatic performer of pop history.
Mat Whitecross’ film renders the rebel feeling wittily and dynamically, while depicting human relationships with credibility. Whitecross does this with the evocation of such classics as
Hit Me With Your Rythm Stick or as the title goes,
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. Dury is played by
Andy Serkis, whose voice and mimics might be familiar from
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, where he embodied Gollum. Serkis was nominated for BAFTA in 2010 for his brilliant performance as the pop icon. His partners are such outstanding actors as
Ray Winstone,
Olivia Williams and
Naomie Harris.
In the case of
One Hundred Mornings, already introduced in our news about the Irish selection, the Hungarian contribution occurred in the final phase of the production process, as the post-production of the film took place in the
Hungarian Film Lab, coordination work done by
Cor Leonis Films.
We’ll soon be back with the latest news, visit back often!
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