RipDelight
This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
CrawlerChunky
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
FirstWitch
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
karin-vanattia
I haven't watched such a good movie for a while. It includes history, love, psychological aspects. The music is wonderful, the actors are brilliant. It keeps your attention and has an unexpected ending. The story plays before, during and after the second world war. The main characters work in a Budapest restaurant. The owner (he is Jewish) is in a relationship with the waitress. He, Laszlo, hires pianist Andras, and both men love Ilona, which is further complicated when their regular customer Hans, an SS colonel, begins to pursue Ilona's affections. Hans wants to marry her, but she refuses his offer. When Hans jumps into a river, Laszlo saves his life and Hans promises him to protect him from the Nazis. Andras the composer falls in love with Ilona, too. They share Ilona who loves them both. Andras composes a song - "Gloomy Sunday". It is published and soon famous. The bad thing is that more and more people who listen to it commit suicide. More and more Jewish people are deported. Hans who went back to Germany return as a Nazi officer.....
samhill5215
Now here is a film that lulls the viewer into believing it's about love, at least the love poets and composers write about, a bit idealized but satisfying and even a little destructive. Our protagonists go through life in a state of wide-eyed bliss and it's all very well done and acted. I really loved this part which lasts much of the film until the Nazis take over. Then things get from bad to worse until the end wraps around the beginning and it all becomes clear. What a brilliant concept and what a surprise. This is what brought me to write this review but it's only the icing on the cake. There's so much more here to feast your eyes and ears on, the sets, the costumes, the music, the dialog, the performances!
Armand
The charm of this film consist in the way to tell old things, in the description art of a well - known world."Gloomy Sunday" is a kind of Frankenstein's creature: pieces of "Lili Marleen", "Casablanca" or "The story of 1900", slices of Hungarian's atmosphere, Nazi ghost and menage en trois.For all that, it is a good movie, his virtue is, in fact, just absence of originality. Like many other movies, the spell is result of a mysterious flavor who persist in your memory months, years and in special moment it saves the image of a sweet trip.Undoubtedly, it is the story of a song, in same measure that the song is the only character. But, at second sight, it is a warm homage to Mitteleuropa, the gorgeous Kakania's spirit. The lost of youth and the last recollection's skin. The shadow of Goethe's "The Sorrows of Young Werther" is powerful and insidious.A subtle wishfulness anatomy. And a song like his backbone.
Adamview
Have seen this superb film twice no thanks to the poor distribution and availability on DVD.Beautifully made old style film with great plot, acting and characters. One of my favourite all time films. It is basically the story of a tragic love triangle set in Budapest during the war. The song "Gloomy Sunday" provides a constant atmospheric backdrop. Like others have commented it has a feel akin to Casablanca and if you enjoyed that classic film you should like this too.A pity that because it was made in German so few people in the UK and USA are likely to see it. Sad that whilst poor quality popcorn films with no plot or value are everywhere real quality like this is so hard to find.
