Dealer

I really loved this movie. I expected it to be odd and slow, knowing that the director was the AD on songs from the second floor which was the weirdest movie I've ever seen. And it didn't disappoint. I loved the camera movement and the sound was perfectly haunting. The main character was incredibly likable if completely perplexing. What made this movie interesting for me were all the odd characters the dealer was forced to deal with. That first scene when he runs into the guy in the tooth outfit was damn funny and just set the stage for a wandering and depressing story. I love that kind of stuff. But the main reason I'm writing this is to ask if anyone knows what song was playing during the credits. I would love to know...

This has to be one of the finest films I have ever seen. Not the Hollywood propaganda regurgitated kosher crap, but a dark expose of a subject long overdue for some sunlight. But be warned though, this film doesn't put bangles and lipstick on a monkey and call her Sally; its an artists and philosophers film about a tragic aspect of modern society our psychopathic leaders profit from while playing dumb. It is definitely not for the shallow thinkers, or someone seeking light entertainment. To anyone who has walked in the shoes this film portrays, either via a family member or personally, the genius of this film will be readily apparent and chill you to the bone. The actors, mainly 1st timers were all superb. Shot in Buda and Pest, Hungary should be proud of this one. It is a very sadly magnificent film.

I'm not terribly familiar with contemporary Hungarian cinema, but from what I gather Dealer appears to be the work of one of its most promising figures. Cinematography, rhythm (to some extent), nuances, symbolism; Fliegauf seems to have a grasp of all of these. Dealer isn't a masterpiece in my mind, though.

The acting is far from impeccable at parts. For example, when the dealer's female friend is talking to her boyfriend on the phone, you don't even get the impression that someone else is on the other line. You sense that the actor is more concerned with her English than playing her part. And even though the dealer's emasculate voice reflects a person not much less fragile than those he provides drugs to, I'm still not sure if the actor possesses all the brooding characteristics required for the role. The parts with his father and supposed child work to a tee, however.

As for the film being too long or too slow, I disagree. Still, a few more rhythmic change-ups would've been welcome. The dialogue reminded me a bit of Kaurismäki with its subtle humor and focus on only what's essential. The Tarkovski comparisons aren't far-fetched, either; with the ending striking up images of Solaris. Another Tarkovski-like trait the director has is his willingness to let things take their time. These precious moments when "nothing happens" allow the viewer to reflect on what he's seen and what's yet to come. The ambiance, the colors, the streets of the city the dealer travels by bike, and the way the director explores his theme, all of these assure that Dealer will stay with me for a while. Extra points for the song that closes the film.

You might like Fliegauf's "Dealer" maybe if you haven't seen his earlier films. They are all clones, of which "Dealer" is at least the 4th of a kind, the others being "Is there life before death?", "Talking Heads" and "Rengeteg". His films use the same schema: extremely long close-ups of monologues. You can call this a "personal style", but it is also a trade-off for creativity and experimenting.

The reason why "Dealer" has been so successful in Hungary and elsewhere is probably because the issue of drugs is overpoliticised and it has been de facto taboo. In the last decade or so there have been very few Hungarian films on this topic, all of them were depicting drugs (undifferentiatedly) as the ultimate evil. "Dealer" certainly has a different approach, because it makes you mostly laugh at, and/or - to a lesser extent - feel sorry for drug users, whereas the other movies were intended mostly to make you hate drugs (and/or - to a lesser extent - also feel sorry for drug users). So this movie suits for both pro-drug and anti-drug people, because of not making any clear statements about the issue. It is yet to be seen whether Fliegauf or any other Hungarian director could make an intelligent and socially significant impact on the issue of drugs in Hungary.

During the 1980's, no director fascinated me and often frustrated me more than Tarkovsky, the Russian who added a new dimension to the viewing requirements of an audience. His wonderful "Solaris", his incredibly slow and drawn-out "Stalker", his magnificent "Andrei Rublev" and his demanding and enigmatic "Sacrifice" were all noteworthy in that no-one who saw any of them could, I believe, ever forget them, as the viewer grappled, for years to come, on what Tarkovsky had sought and/or achieved. With "Dealer", we have the movie which has probably the best soundtrack I have encountered. The purr of a cat fills the theatre with stereo magnificence and a "whistling wind" sounds backgrounds almost every minute of the movie. It never dominates the story, but it enhances the slow deliberation on the ever-swirling camera, which advances and retreats on the actor and which is a marvelous call for intense concentration by the viewer. An audience who was not prepared to concentrate would probably call "Dealer" too slow or ponderous; absolutely not!: it shows the true poetry of cinema which is all too rarely encountered. Full marks to the director and the actors for creating what I consider one of the best movies I have seen in years...and I see a huge number of movies.