This is an excellent movie full of humor and madcap adventure. The movie is set around the end of WWII. Hungary is going through much political upheaval and mayhem. Its streets now have soldiers storming into and out of the city, wearing many different colors of uniforms. There is a joke regarding the political implications of the same thing in the movie too. Fortunately, the message of the film is not lost in all the levity since many scenes make quite an impact. Thus, even through the fine layers of the comedy, a viewer still feels empathy for this proud country whose innocent citizens are the biggest victims of the war (and isn't it always so in any country). The scene where teenage boys are being loaded onto the army vehicle to get enlisted is a very poignant one. The boys' terrified & beleaguered mothers who've already sent their husbands to the war protest against the injustice of it all, but their pleas fall on deaf ears.
My favorite characters were Ferenc Molnár and Albert. The former has decided that he's seen enough of the war and wants out; possibly with some money to start a little business venture when peacetime comes. During his stint with the army, he's learnt quite a few tricks and isn't afraid to use those to his advantage. He understands that there are no winners in a war, so he's decided that all of his loyalty is only to himself. However, during the course of the movie, he makes many friends, who are also deserters and tired of the war.
Albert, the butler, with his stoic expressions is the exact opposite of Molnar. He's so cultured and proper that he seems like a fish out of water among these war-hardened soldiers. He's a reminder of the bygone era with all its class differences. However, being a working class man, he's still not obsolete. Even in a detention camp, he finds himself in great demand. Besides Molnar and Albert, other characters are quite good too. The war-weary soldiers, wearing different colored uniforms, and having different ideologies form a brotherhood of sorts while living in the mansion. This collaboration proves how friendship can heal people and makes one realize that the most important thing is human life; much more important than national identities and hatred for the so-called enemy.
Watching this interesting and funny movie, I was reminded of another great war comedy, 'The Great Escape'.
