A Rózsa énekei

I returned from the Calgary International Film Festival tonight after seeing this film, and it left me thinking. I like films that do this. Actually make you think after you've left the theatre.

This film is immensely different than that of mainstream films. That is what makes it interesting. It's also based on true events, which makes it even more intriguing.

The film itself is very well done. It captures the emotion and the vulnerability of people, not only in war-time Budapest, but everyone everyday.

The acting is fine, although, as with most foreign films, you need to pay close attention to the subtitles, or wind up getting lost. The characters conveyed the situation to me through their own words, and the English translation just made it better.

The plot is good. The film is slow, I won't lie, but the ending is fabulous. This is a film that takes place during the Second World War; however it is not a war film. It is something very different.

This film is a definite must see for any world-cinema type people. 8/10

I have read volumes about the Third Reich and what it did across Europe. But I've also read about resistance to it. And yet I'd never learned about Imre Rose. After watching Andor Szilagyi's magnificent "A Rozsa enekei" ("Rose's Songs" in English), I know about him.

Rose was a Hungarian-Jewish opera singer. When the Nazis invaded Hungary, he locked himself in the top floor of a house overlooking Budapest. Every week, he would sing, and the other Jewish families hiding out in the house would gather around and listen. His songs gave them hope in the midst of the terror surrounding them.

I might compare this film to "Life is Beautiful", the way that the central character seeks to give people hope in a seemingly hopeless situation (although I will assert that "LIB" is better). But beyond that, this one also works as a straightforward look at the Nazi occupation of Hungary. I definitely recommend it, and I hope that people start paying more attention to cinema from the Magyar Republic; other good movies from there include "The Revolt of Job" and "Sunshine".

Starring Franco Castellano, Ildiko Bansagi, Djoko Rosic, Maia Morgenstern and David Zum.

I had high hopes for this film because of the other reviews on IMDB ... what I missed was the 6.6 rating ... which in hindsight is very generous. This film did not work for me at all. First off where did this story come from? Seriously they tell us this is based on a true story but Google Irme Rose and you won't find much. Secondly, the film does a really poor job of explaining what happened in Budapest in 1944 when the Arrow Cross took control and the Nazis deported about 600,000 Jews & Roma in under 6 months. Many other films do a much better job of this.

The English translations did not do the story justice as there were several key points that I didn't catch ... and yes I do understand that Hungary does not translate well. Additionally, the production values were obnoxious ... especially the sound track which was totally unreal and focused on recurring noises like dripping water and clocks ticking and dogs barking. The script was not tight at all and editing was horrible!

I found this film to be obnoxious and really slow paced ... in other words skullduggery! 3 of 10 stars