Die Jungen von der Paulstraße

This film is good only by the concepts of acting, directing, sets and photography. But the story and the entire picture is unworthy to the original classic which it was loosely "based on". It maybe enjoyable for Italians who aren't read the original Ferenc Molnar novel, but for Hungarian whom read in in childhood and enjoyed it for decades it is really a disappointment.

First, they changed the age of the main characters, but the question is that how the hell can 11-12 year old characters make the same adventures, actions, etc. as 14-15 year old kids (originally portraid in the novel)? Second they made some very big mistakes which are really the forges even history. Feri Ács wearing a Beatles-style haircut in 1905? Divorce in a family like Nemecsek's? Ridiculous! Third, the characters are really not like themselves in the original story. The kids, like Csónakos (who was a tall and humorous kid in the novel) or Ács (who was enemy to the Pál Street Boys, but totally a loyal young man) are two-dimensional cliche characters. They even made an adventurer from Janó, the keeper of the ground!

The film is like a spoof of the original classic, it isn't even have got the same storyline somewhere! I don't say anything for the crew, but this isn't a fair thing for Italians to go to Hungary and ruin a classic, generation's favorite book into this. Gave it another title, another characters, but as "Pal Street Boys" it is simply not fair.

If you want to enjoy the real classic of adventure, loyalty and beautiful story, go and see the original, 1966 Hungarian-English film version of it. But for this "piece of art": watch it if you really want a disappointment from good filmmakers.