"Gloomy Sunday (Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod)" is a very mittel-European take on "Jules et Jim."
It has resonance with "The Pianist," but was produced in 1999 and is only being released in the U.S. now. Based on an urban legend grounded in fact it demonstrates how a piece of music can perfectly capture the zeitgeist of its times, so much so that it influences people's lives to end them. The original facts, with a list of recordings, are documented at www.phespirit.info/gloomysunday/ which is how I knew to find Marianne Faithfull's recording in my collection to play as I write this.
A love quadrangle starts off as an open, free-spirited affair between a jovial restaurant owner and his high-spirited, sensual hostess, becomes a complex three-some with a sultry composer, then an uptight tourist gets tangled in their lives. But this is Budapest 1933 - 1945, and the personal becomes the political, as the restauranteur is Jewish, the tourist transforms into an S.S. officer, and the composer's signature melody haunts them and the airwaves throughout a Europe falling like dominoes.
While there are lovely shots of the bridges and narrow streets of Budapest in a warm, lush cinematography, especially as seen on desperate bicycle rides (in dress and high heels no less), much of the movie takes place in the restaurant, so that the passage of time and the resulting changing stresses are marvelously shown by the actors' body language. Some of the coincidences are a bit thick, but the political commentary up to the present is effectively pointed.
The melody only gains in power throughout the film and is much more timeless in capturing the feelings of the time -- and any parallel experiences--than the pop or patriotic music Americans associate with the period. From the untranslated credits, it seemed that the closing version in English is Artie Shaw's, though the lead singer wasn't identified there. In the film, the lyrics are an after-thought to try and capture the music's meaning.
