Audience Member
This is a feature film making its way around the world at film festivals and movie theatres, and is absolutely beautiful. The movie stars and is directed and co-produced by Endre Hules, with cinematography by Oscar-award winning Hungarian cinematographer Zsigmond Vilmos. The movie is steeped in Hungarian music and dance, you features musicians and dancers that have traveled widely throughout North America in the past.
Choreography is by Zoltan Zsurafaszki, one of Hungary's most heralded folkdancers. The core dancers are primarily from the Honved Tancszinhaz (lots of them formerly from the Budapest Dance Ensemble), including well-traveled luminaries such as Florian Hajdu, Tamas Szappanos, Iren Deffend, Eva Gomori, Attila Tompa, Gabor Valach, and Andras Gelencser. The dancing is just beautiful. And I was surprised to see the two female leads - not folkdancers themselves - do a fantastic job with the folkdance material.
The original music is primarily by world/folk musician Ferenc Kiss, who also coordinated the authentic folk music selections on the soundtrack I found the soundtrack to be very creative (mostly in the "world music" idiom with tasteful instrumentation) and highly complementary of what was going on on-screen.
But don't be fooled, this is not just a music/dance film. It's much more. It's a professionally-done and beautifully shot and acted tale any non-folky fan would enjoy. The IMDB summary puts it like this: "There were two brothers - two dancers - in Communist Hungary. One defected, the other stuck it out. One gave his soul to commerce, the other to the Party. After twenty years, they meet again. And the dance begins." The movie has a lot to say about Hungary, America, and a bit about history and hopefully the future.
www.kalmanmagyar.com
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/25/23
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Audience Member
Great movie, really enjoyed it. Moving
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/18/23
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Audience Member
One word: "Virtuosic".
Stunning photography; intense performances; poignant, raw, yet elegant dances and unique soundtrack that highlights the allegory of folkloric Hungarian dance which mirrors the story.
Steve, a dancer-turned-impresario, returns to his native Hungary after 20 years. He finds that the Communist regime that expelled him is gone, but his brother, Gyula, hasn't changed. He still works with the same cash-strapped dance company they started together and is married to Steve's former sweetheart, Mari. The two men's rivalry is triggered instantly, but Mari challenges them to revive their last success together, a dance on the ballad "The Maiden Danced to Death". If Gyula can make Steve's exacting standards, Steve will promote a world tour, breathing new life into the sagging careers of both brothers.
Sure, the film has its issues mainly in the screenplay and exposition (the often under explained and more often over explained), but these proved to be minor distractions from the otherwise stunning visuals shot by Academy Award winning cinematographer, Vilmos Zsigmond.
The stars billed in the movie such as Deborah Kara Unger and Gil Bellows actually have fairly modest screen time, so fans should be prepared to be left wanting more from them, but the intense roles played by the relatively unknown Bea Melkvi and Lsolt Laszlo (who won a Hungarian award for the role) are discoveries that more than make up for it.
The "The Maiden Danced to Death" has every potential to become one of those enduring world cinema classics. Despite a growing track record on the international festival circuit, North American audiences may have to wait a bit longer. Don't be surprised if you see this again in a few years in a U.S. style remake.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
Full Review
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