"Budapoest Noir" (2017 release from Hungary; 95 min.) brings the story of Zsigmond Gordon, a newspaper reporter on the crime beat, investigating a murder in 1936 Budapest. As the movie opens, a train rolls in the station, and we see the casket carrying the body of Prime Minister Gyula Gömbös. We then get to know Gordon, always looking for the next good crime story. At lunch, a mysterious woman asks him to light her cigarette (and manages to have him pay for lunch too). Then one day, he gets a tip that a woman is found dead in the streets. And wouldn't you know, it's the very same woman who had asked for a light. Turns out the woman is Jewish. As the country is readying for the Prime Minister's funeral, Gordon is determined to find the killer... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: this is the big screen adaptation of the Hungarian bestseller, reportedly the first book noir in Hungary's history. I haven't read the book so I can't comment on how close the film stays to the book (or not). What I can comment on is that, regretfully, the movie lacks on all levels. The performers act in a wooden and very staged way, and you can practically hear the director yell "and... ACTION" at the beginning of each scene. I can't recall the last time i saw a film so incredibly awkward. As to the film's "noir" element, there's a lot (and I mean, a LOT) of cigarette smoking going on... That's about the only aspect I detected as being "noir". Bottom line: at no time did I feel ever any emotional connection or involvement with the movie's characters. I should care who murdered the young woman and wonder why she was murdered, but I simply didn't...
I recently saw this film at the 2019 Jewish & Israeli Film Festival here in Cincinnati, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. I have attended the festival for years, and most of the time the festival's planning committee does an excellent job in putting together a worthwhile and engaging program. Alas, on this one, they simply whiffed and I cannot recommend "Budapest Noir" to anyone in good conscience, sorry.
