Cinema
Somewhere in Europe
Valahol Európában
Géza Radványi · 1948
Synopsis
In a country ravaged by war, a band of orphaned children, led by the eldest, Hosszú, wanders without a roof; they steal to eat, frighten the peasants, and soon they are being sought. They find refuge in a ruined castle, on a bare hill, where a former conductor, Simon Péter, lives in seclusion. The children at first distrust this adult and nearly hang him, then they grow attached to him: he does not lie to them, and teaches them what freedom is worth.
Context
The idea came from Béla Balázs, who wrote the screenplay with Radványi, Félix Máriássy and Judit Máriássy. The film is inspired by Gaudiopolis, the children's republic founded in Budapest by the Lutheran pastor Gábor Sztehlo, and several of the young performers came from it; the others were chosen from orphanages. Produced with the support of the Communist Party and shot at the Hunnia studios, it brought together future great names of Hungarian cinema: Máriássy as editor, Károly Makk and Péter Bacsó as assistants. Critics have compared it to Italian neorealism.
Who it is for
A black-and-white film in which children with no acting experience play the roles of lost children; released on DVD in France by Clavis Films.
Prizes and reception
The first worldwide success of Hungarian cinema according to the national film archive, and chosen in 2000 among the twelve best Hungarian films.
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