FINAL CUT  2012
(Hölgyeim és uraim)
Directed by György Pálfi
84 minutes
With English subtitles when necessary

Those who are familiar with the surreal cinema of Hungarian director György Pálfi (Hukkle, Taxidermia) know that he is a visionary filmmaker whose movies boggle the imagination. This time around he has decided to delve into his film archive and whip up a film totally reconstructed from other movies, ranging from the birth of cinema to present day... from obscure Japanese films (many of which I have screened) to Hungarian classics to big Hollywood extravaganzas.

What is the logic of the film? Well, there is indeed a story... a story of adventure, curiosity, sex, falling in love, and sadness.... except that instead of telling that well-worn story through several central actors, we have 400 different actors expressing this emotionally-pack narrative. The film seamlessly follows the trajectory of the main character, a character that changes face every few seconds... from an American blonde to an African to an alien to a cartoon character. Likewise the soundtrack is also reconstructed from bits and pieces of cinematic highlights... ranging from the music of David Lynch movies to Saturday Night Fever. The end result is an explosive roller-coaster ride through the history of cinema in the form of a love story.

With Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon, Bruno Ganz, Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau, Delphine Seyrig, Robert De Niro, Greta Garbo, etc, etc, etc.