Amerikai Magyar Szó, 1982. július-december (36. évfolyam, 26-49. szám)

1982-12-16 / 47. szám

Thursday, Dec. 16. 1982. AMERIKAI MAGYAR SZO 9 Comments on the Hungarian Film GIOVANNI GRAZZINI Rome Every foreign film critic ought to have a permanent Hungarian visa in his passport, just as our grandfathers would not be considered "men of the world" if they hadn’t made a trip to Paris, or as no "playboy" is worth the name as long as he hasn't bought himself a smoking pipe in London. By this I mean that for about the past 20 years the Hungarian cinema has been a must in the itinerary of European culture, a place to reflect at, a meeting-place for people eager to gain first-hand knowledge of the realities of this "little-big" country, which is filled with dramatic history, a nation that is so much different from those that surround it, and which is rightly proud of its identity. The Hun­garian cinema hasn't chosen the easy way of smiles or that of the period films. If a few brilliant comedies and features set in distant centuries do come out of * the Hungarian film industry, the Hungarian cinema gives of its very best in psychological dramas whose backdrop is the most recent period in which private lives and collective destinies are more inevitably inter­twined than at any other time, because political deci­sions at a higher level also influence the quality of everyday existence. The Hungarian cinema represents this intertwining with a painful—and often tragical- sense of history, which is looked upon as a perennial struggle between the hope of happiness and the con­viction that the barrier between good and evil keeps shifting all the time, which is why justice is inattain- able. In many other countries of the East, it is believed that the cinema, if it is to serve the people, should BRIGITTE JEREMIAS Frankfort-on-the-Main By winning an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film the Hungarian cinema has earned a major distinc­tion this year. This prize award was made, not to a showy, extravagant, high-budget production like several American Oscar prize-winners every year are: it went to a significant work that will go down in the annals of cinema history. Ever since the first viewing in Budapest, I was deep­ly impressed by István Szabó's Mephisto. Nothing of the hate in the Klaus Mann original has found its way into the film, even though the portrait, as sketched by Klaus Maria Brandauer, is a critical one. But his Hendrik Höfgen (Gründgens), for all his high ambition, remains a likable and humanly understandable person. It keeps bothering the spectator, who wonders if, given the same chances under an authoritarian regime, he hadn't acted in the same manner. Der Spiegel magazine rightly described Rolf Hoppe (Marshal Goring) as the best character-drawing of a potentate of the Nazi era, in all radiate optimism and fill it with joie de vivre. The Hun­garian film artists—at any rate the best among them— are more honest than that and prefer not to deceive themselves and their audiences. As recipients of a cultural heritage that is imbued with pessimism, they tell them the truth: that man is, by his very nature, a contradiction-ridden animal that is dominated by \ aggressive instincts but is tempted by the utopia of Reason. No self-respecting Hungarian film maker will paint reality in rosy hues. Sometimes they may delight in painting it in too dark colours in order to make the distortions of the characters appear more excruciating (there is often a touch of the cult of victims in the Hungarian cinema, as if its heroes were more unfortu­nate than others and therefore deserved more sympa­thy). But its relationship with reality is always very dialectic, as it incorporates all aspects of life — ideo­logical, sentimental, social, and economic.The curious situation arises, then, that while Hungarian society is pretty much a temporal one, its cinema is, unwit­tingly, a very "religious" cinema because it presents a full panorama vision of life and its conflicts, and exalts suffering as an absolute value. In this sense, I believe I may say that the Hungarian films, admit­tedly to varying degrees, are among the brightest mirrors of the human condition, with all of its cru­elties and all of its illusions, expressed with a taste for the spectacular which, by making no concessions to the frivolous or the false, affirms the full emotive and creative power of film-making. its repulsive amiability, with only once the echo of a distant thunder. And Christine Harbort's Saxon-vain Lotte Lindenthal (Emmy Goring) is unforgettable. PETER COWIE London Hungarian cinema has proved itself one of the world's most durable, mature, and constantly evolving cinemas - rich not only in individual figures of dazz­ling talent (Jancsó, Szabó, Gaál, Gábor, Mészáros), but also in themes and technical expertise. The Hun­garian directors have a happy knack of being able to address their country’s social problems without relin­quishing their flair for intellectual entertainment. The Academy Award to Mephisto is a symbol of their accomplishment. PLEASE GIVE THIS PAPER TO A FRIEND Cardinal Lékai on visit to Pope The relations between the Hungarian state and the Catholic Church are develop­ing, with consecutive small steps being taken one after the other, a policy line that has proved its worth, Cardinal László Lékai, president of the Hungarian Catholic Episcopate, said in an interview given to the television news magazine "A Het" (The Week), broadcast Sunday evening. The Cardinal returned earlier from a visit to Rome, at the head of the Hungarian Bench of Bishops. The Cardinal went on to say that there have also been some difficulties, never concealed, that are being neither exaggera­ted nor accepted, with the continuing inten­tion that these would be solved jointly with endurance and patience. He said that, following the visit of Janos Kadar to the late Pope Paul VI, the Theologi­cal College of Budapest started three-year correspondence courses for the study of Catholic theology by graduate men and women. A house for spiritual exercises is being built, and Jesuite fathers will con­duct meditative exercises there, beginning from next May, for 1.500 men and women annually. The persons taking part in these will master the basic tenets of the Catholic faith. There is a Catholic nursing home for the aged, named after John XXIII, where 120 inmates are being looked after in a Catholic millieau. For the first time in Hungary, a nursing home for handicapped and blind children has recently been opened in Budapest, while another home for mentally retarded children has been opened in Ipoly- tolgyes in north Hungary. Cardinal Lékai said the Pope under­stands the situation of the Hungarian Catho­lic Church. He is also well aware of the values by which the Hungarian people have enriched Europe throughout history. He has found many things in the present situati­on in Hungary that appeal to him, and ap­preciates both the theological corresponden­ce courses and the house for spiritual medita­tion. He expressed satisfaction about the devoted work of Hungarian priests, and made special mention of the way elderly priests are being looked after. Concern is being felt, hower, over the many Hunga­rian families that have only one child. They asked a wise old man of long ago: "When did you start giving advice?" "In those years, sonny, when I was too old to give anything else." r~----------------------------------------------1 I Csoori Sándor: Nomádnapló . $ 4.60 f . Faludy György: Összegyűjtött versei 22.— ».Rákóczi Ferenc: Vallomások, I emlékiratok | I Emlékirata: J> 16.90 Kiáltványa 3.30 | ■ Nyíró József: Székelyek " g__ Zöld csillag $ 10.— Kopjafák 6.— t Űz Bence $ 10.—íme az emberek 12.— * | Halhatatlan élet 12.— | | Szalay Lajos: Hatvan rajza -* 4.— j á Cs. Szabó László: Vérző fantomok 12.— Vaszary Gabor: Ketten Párizs ellen 12.— * A no a pokolban is az $ 10.- Pók 12.— \ -Édesanyánk Ö $ 10— | I Kapható: j j PÜSK1 - CORVIN Hungarian Books & Records. 1590 2nd.'Ave. New York N.Y. 10028- * I telefon; 212-879-8993 | t___________________

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