Budapest

Author(s): Ryne
Location: Portland

“Budapest”

Produced by Lew Rywin (Schindler’s List, The Pianist) and Dan Kolsrud (L.A Confidential)
Directed by Roman Polanski (The Pianist, Chinatown)
Written by Frank Darabont (Saving Private Ryan, Collateral) and Steven Zaillian (Gangs of New York, Black Hawk Down)
Cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki (Children of Men, The New World)
Makeup by Katherine James (Traffic)
Art Direction by Richard L. Johnson (Road to Perdition, O Brother Where Art Thou?)
Film Editing by Claire Simpson (The Constant Gardener, Platoon)

Principal Cast:

Clive Owen- Peter Farkas
Daniel Radcliffe - Jakab Farkas
Eva Green- Anna Farkas
Shia LaBeouf- Tamas Varga
David Carradine- Dictator Erno Gero
Thomas Kretschmann- General Andris Kral

Tagline: “100 Kilometers, 4 Traitors, 1 Shot At Freedom”

Synopsis: Peter Farkas (Owen) is an advisor to Hungarian dictator Erno Gero (Carradine) in the early days of the Hungarian revolution. One day at work, Peter gets a call from his wife, Anna (Green) explaining to him that their son, Jakab (Radcliffe), his best friend, Tamas (LaBeouf), and twenty other teenagers have been thrown in jail for attending a protest that denounced the tyrannical government. Peter hangs up the phone, walks into Gero’s office, and asks for Jakab and Tamas’ release. Gero coldly informs Peter that an example must be made, that he plans to execute the protesters publicly in the town plaza. Peter is taken back by the apathetic attitude Gero has towards the young protesters. Peter must immediately make a decision: to stay loyal to his country and its leader or find a way break Jakab and Tamas out of jail. He decides to break them out of jail. Peter is able to convince the guards that Gero wants him to escort Jakab and Tamas to a high security prison just outside Budapest. Once they get out, Peter, Jakab, and Tamas must move quickly to get out of Budapest before Gero notices what Peter has done. Understanding that she will be targeted with conspiracy and ultimately put to death, Anna meets the boys just outside Budapest. She feels that it will be easier for them to be followed if they travel by car. She suggests that they move by foot to Slovakia, nearly one hundred kilometers away. Gero learns of the betrayal by Peter, and sends General Andris Kral (Kretschmann) to find and murder the traitors. Kral makes it his civic duty to find these traitors and kill each of them before they make it to Slovakia. After forty kilometers have passed, he is able to catch up to the traitors and capture Tamas. Even with Tamas pleading for his life, Kral shows no remorse when he assassinates him. Jakab, Peter, and Anna witness the assassination from behind a cluster of trees about half a kilometer away. Jakab is undeniably shaken and in the most dramatic scene in the movie, Jakab explains to Peter and Anna that Tamas didn’t want to go to the protest; that he forced Tamas to go with him. Anna is able to pacify Jakab and get him to continue the escape to freedom. Kral is not pleased with the blood of only one traitor spilled so he continues his relentless expedition for justice. The Farkas family must move quickly if they are going to escape into neighboring Slovakia before Kral finds them and murders all of them.

What the press would say:

Powerful, Stunning, Moving. All these adjectives come to mind when I think of Roman Polanski’s new masterpiece Budapest. Roman Polanski’s direction takes this production to a new tier in filmmaking. Superbly casted, directed, and acted Budapest will leave even the biggest film buffs speechless once the lights come up. Clive Owen gives a brilliant performance that will one day define his career. Owen’s ability to create the mood is what stuns me the most about his stellar performance. When Peter is around the Farkas family and needs to stay strong, Owen does that with perfect precision, but when Peter is alone, Owen conveys Peter’s struggles with amazing perfection. This performance will eventually lead him to his second Oscar Nomination and unless the stars fall from the sky, his first win. Overshadowed by Owen’s spectacular performance is the equally spectacular performance of Eva Green.

Green shows no fear as the glue of the Farkas family. Anna is one of the strongest female characters to hit the silver screen in years and Green acts, well not acts, becomes Anna with excellence that it rivals such female performances as Helen Mirren in The Queen and Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth. Proving again why he is one the brightest young stars in Hollywood, Daniel Radcliffe gives his best performance to date. Radcliffe steps out of his wizarding ways to portray the rebellious Jakab as if he has known Jakab since his birth. Radcliffe brilliantly gives one of the most intense, moving scenes in cinematic history, when Jakab tells his parents that Tamas did not wish to go to the protest. Although Owen, Green, and Radcliffe are amazing, the greatest performance in this stunning ensemble comes from David Carradine who callously depicts the Hungarian dictator Erno Gero. It is unbelievable how astounding Carradine is in a role he was born to play. He convinces the audience that even Hitler would cringe at the stolid attitude Gero takes towards his citizens. Though he screen time is limited to forty minutes, his present is felt throughout the entire film. Overall, Budapest is one of the best movies of the year and come Oscar time,it should be the frontrunner in many categories especially Best Picture. ****/****

FYC:

Best Picture
Best Director- Roman Polanski
Best Actor- Clive Owen
Best Actress- Eva Green
Best Supporting Actor- Daniel Radcliffe
Best Supporting Actor- David Carradine
Best Original Screenplay- Frank Darabont and Steven Zaillian
Best Cinematography- Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Art Direction- Richard L. Johnson
Best Makeup- Katherine James
Best Film Editing- Claire Simpson