Curtiz

It is my belief that this film is not intended to be one "based on a true story", not a factual tale. I sincerely did not look up as to what happened on the set of Casablanca I doubt that most of what is depicted on-screen happened, but the film should be interpreted rather as a sort of reinvention, a dramatization. Thus, explained the reason for the b/w coloring: it reminds the viewer that this is not real, that it's a film. The only colour seen is the red of the "On air" light when shootings are rolling, as to suggest that those moments that we don't ever see are more real. Yet, we never actually see cameras rolling in those scenes, we don't see but the fictional story presented to us. The story incorporates a great deal of classic hollywood nostalgia, some nods to the practices that the metoo movement nowadays rightfully criticises. Ferenc Lengyel shares a damning resemblance to Michael Curtiz. His character is not presented as a positive figure, in my opinion, nor an auteur. He is a corporate director, he doesn't write the script or has creative freedom, and the film presents him in such terms. The whole movie is encompassed by some very stunning noir cinematography, several continuous takes, it's a feast for the eye. The language is mostly english, often spoken by hungarian actors, so in some cases you can hear the accent. It's not too much of a con for me, but I wanted to notify it. This is Topolanszky's first full-lenght feature. As a debut, it is quite remarkable. I'm interested in seeing more of him.

The story of hungarian director michael curtiz, while putting together the film casablanca. And dealing with his own love life issues. The opening scenes are a bit sensationalist... a dinner, where we hear both sides of the argument. Some wish to be protectionist, some want to get involved and stop wars where they start. Ferenc lengyel is michael curtiz, director. He wants to make this film, but the studio isn't sure where they want it to go. The music is out of control... always dramatic and fantastic. Not sure why. It's a netflix release..... a bit spacey, ethereal, over the top. Big band numbers always in the background. Lots of discussion between jack warner and hal wallis, who had produced several humphrey bogart films, and also a bunch of elvis movies. Towards the end, curtiz is shown to be a tyrant on the set, angry at the film code rep, who insists that everything must be shown to be patriotic. It's watchable. Directed by tamas topolanszky. He has written and directed a few projects, and received film festival awards for his work.

I expected more of this great director's bio and not just his frustrations on Casablanca.

I found the film one of the best Hungarian films of the last few years. This movie was truly emotional with wonderful music and appealing acting. The script is clever, does not only show the negative human character of Curtiz but also made him seen as complex as he must have been. I liked the acting of Lengyel in the lead role with his genious way of shaping Curtiz. I think the film is mostly about identity search of a man who is a Hungarian Jewish man living in America, who is a man loving women but also a father, so in this film I can recognise the problematic character of today's person, it is not a film about history, rather a film about human emotions, the complexity of a man's character, about us who try to find ourselves in this chaotic world. Multiculturalism in the 1940's did not differ from that of today. The film made me rewatch many of Curtiz's films, especially Casablanca. I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves the world of movies, who longs for sense and sensibility in films, who would like to see passion for profession.

I actually watched this film twice on Netflix. The second time I had a friend with me who loves Casablanca and claims to have seen it at least 50 times. He really liked this film and found the parts about the filming of Casablanca rewarding. We do wonder how much of the personal story is true, i.e. was Curtiz's daughter really on the set of Casablanca. For those who complained there were no subtitles for the Hungarian language scenes, in Netflix you must turn on subtitles. I have them on all the time as I am hard of hearing. It would be to your benefit to re-watch the film with the subtitles on.