Gloomy Sunday – Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod, 1999, directed by Rolf Schübel. Unusual story of making a film. Once in 1933, the Hungarian composer and pianist R. Seresh wrote a song he called “Gloomy Sunday”, this song gained wide popularity, including outside Hungary, but at the same time urban legends associated it with a large number
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Gloomy Sunday – Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod, 1999, directed by Rolf Schübel. Unusual story of making a film. Once in 1933, the Hungarian composer and pianist R. Seresh wrote a song he called “Gloomy Sunday”, this song gained wide popularity, including outside Hungary, but at the same time urban legends associated it with a large number of suicides, so it was nicknamed “the Hungarian song about suicide”. It was impossible to verify whether the legend corresponded to reality, but many years after its writing, the author of the song also committed suicide. Many years later, writer Nick Barcow, in collaboration with Rolf Schübel, wrote a novel in which they set out the story of the creation of this song, and then Rolf Schübel directed this film. The action takes place in Budapest in the late thirties. The Jew Laszlo Szabo (Joachim Krul) keeps a small restaurant in which the beautiful waitress Ilona (Erica Marojan) works, in which he is in love, they have a close relationship for several years, but she is not in a hurry to marry him. One day they hire pianist András (Stefano Dionysi) to the restaurant, who will write this song, but, of course, will not resist the beauty of Ilona and will also fall in love with her, she, being unable to choose one of them, shares love with both, with which they reconcile, as Laszlo says, it is better to have a part of Ilona than to give it up altogether. After writing the song, which is becoming more and more popular, András finally begins to earn some money on royalties, all thanks to Laszlo, who, having a commercial streak, managed to arrange everything properly. Once a young German Hans (Ben Becker) comes to the restaurant, he is also subdued - not only by the song, but also by Ilona and almost immediately makes her an offer, to which she refuses, she allows herself to be photographed and after some time Hans sends her a photo, which will also play a fatal role in the whole story. Time runs, the WWII begins, and then again Hans comes to the restaurant to eat his favorite beef roll, listen to the same song and admire Ilona. Because Laszlo is a Jew, he hopes to protect Hans because he saved him when he tried to drown himself. Hans, although a Sturmbanfuehrer of the SS, conducts his personal business activities, saving Jews for large sums (not in Reich marks or Hungarian currency, but only in dollars, taking also valuable jewelry) from being sent to a concentration camp and giving them permission to leave. Being an outspoken bastard, Hans certainly does not keep his promise, although after the war he is proclaimed the savior of the Jews and praised in every possible way for it. But he will be punished, albeit at a very old age. I won't tell you any details. The film was very well shot, watched even with interest, despite a very unusual love story.
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