Editor

By Alex Deleon, <filmfestivals,com>

Greetings from the Capitol:

Made it back to BP by Icetrain from Miskolc.

What a contrast! -- after a month in the provinces  I had almost forgotten that Budapest is one of the Great Capitol cities of Europe!

Magnificent openings gála party at the ultra modern Bartók music Palace was truly palatial. Plenty to eat and drink with slices of smoked goose leg one the many gastronomic delights. Checked into the 8th floor of the official festival Hotel MERCURE, overlooking the back of castle Hill here on the Buda side of town ~ nursing a slight sore throat but otherwise in one piece,

The opening film was a showing of a rare one hundred year old film,"TOLOCA"

From the year 1919 -- when Chaplin was all the rage elsewhere -- by director Mihály Kertész, later to become a Hollywood legend under the Americanized name of "Michael Cutiz" of Casablanca and countless other Hollywood Golden Era milestones.

A giant hanging photographic portrait of Kertész plus a hanging still from the film dominated the post screening bash in the upper balcony of the palace as a fine pianist provided a highly amplified medley of standard ballads including "As Time Goes By" from Casablanca. The only way to describe this setting  -- A XXI Century update of the castle in the "Adventures of Robin Hood" co-directed by Curtiz in 1938.  The silent film was accompanied by a full Hungarian orchestra in the main music hall of the palace where the cream of international classic music artists are the regular attraction. The last time I was here it was English maestro Simon Rattle wielding baton on stage.

In a word the revived Hungarian film week is off and running in grand style after a two year hiatus during which it was beginning to look like the glories of Hungarian cinema were a thing of the past -- dead and all but buried -- to the point that the Hungarian film week was abruptly cancelled by Bela Tarr two years ago, under the claim that there was no longer anything worth showing.

Now under the guidance of former Hollywood producer András "Andy" Vajna it looks like the Requiem for Magyar cinema was perhaps a bit premature.

If the films we see in the coming week live up to the promise of openings night we're in for a heady ride,

RIck Blaine, Budapest, looking for Letters of transit -- and, "Round up the usual suspects!"