January 24, 2008

István Szabó Film Retrospective

National Gallery of Art, February 9 to March 2, 2008

Marking his seventieth birthday, the Washington National Gallery of Art in cooperation with the Embassy of Hungary, scheduled a film retrospective titled “István Szabó’s Twentieth Century” from the works of Oscar winning Hungarian Director, which will take place from February 9 to March 2. The director will be present on the concluding weekend of the series (February 29 – March 2) to introduce the programs at the Embassy, the National Gallery, the Goethe Institute, and hold a master course at the George Washington University.

István Szabó will talk about his films and more at the Embassy on Friday, Februar 29, at 7pm.

The retrospective includes the director’s most widely acclaimed work alongside a number of rarely seen early productions. Twelve of his films will be shown during the 4-week retrospective in the Gallery’s East Building Concourse Large Auditorium with the following program: 

1. The Age of Daydreaming | Koncert

February 9 at 4:30PM

Freshly graduated from college, Jancsi and his friends eagerly anticipate the launch of their careers and their new role in the grown-up world. Soon confronted, however, with bureaucracy, disillusionment, and the self-centered priorities of adult life, Jancsi steadily sees his youthful illusions disintegrate. An explicit ode to the French New Wave, this early film already explores a number of highly personal themes that mark Szabó's subsequent work. The Age of Daydreaming was the director's first feature and won the Silver Sail Award at the Locarno Film Festival in 1965 where it was first shown to an international audience. (István Szabó, 1964, 35mm, Hungarian with subtitles, 93 minutes) The director's early short Koncert precedes the feature.

2. Father

February 10 at 4:00PM

Containing autobiographical elements (Szabó grew up fatherless), the film focuses on the theme of personal loss in the context of recent Hungarian history as it centers on the story of Bence Takó, a boy who lost his father during the siege of Budapest in 1945. With the help of some treasured personal belongings, the boy gradually builds up fictional roles for his father, depicting him as a pivotal figure in recent historic events. As Bence matures, he realizes that the myths he has created increasingly get in the way of his own development. (István Szabó, 1966, 35mm, Hungarian with subtitles, 96 minutes)

3. Meeting Venus

February 10 at 5:45PM

A delightful backstage drama set against a huge international production of Wagner's Tannhauser at the Paris opera, Meeting Venus explores with a touch of satire the impact that interpersonal relationships can have on a collective performance. "By the time of the film's stirring ending," notes Janet Maslin, "it's clear that each incident, no matter how small, has played a role in shaping an opening night's triumph." (István Szabó, 1991, 35mm, Hungarian with subtitles, 119 minutes)

4. Budapest Tales

February 16 at 12:30PM

The imagery of post-1945 Budapest is explored in the allegorical tale of an abandoned and derailed tram discovered by a group of people in the countryside. They decide to put the vehicle back on track and push it to safety in the capital's depot. The symbolic journey takes the tram's passengers through the most recent events of Hungarian history, while confronting certain individuals along the way. A selection of István Szabó's short films on Budapest introduces the feature. (István Szabó, 1976, 35mm, Hungarian with subtitles, 84 minutes)

5. Confidence

February 16 at 2:30PM

Set in Hungary during the final months of World War II, Confidence takes up the story of two fugitives who reluctantly agree to pose as husband and wife in order to protect their real-life spouses, and themselves, from the Nazis. Beautifully exploring the notion of trust between the main characters, the film uses light "so steadily as a measure of the couple's moods," notes one critic, "that it nearly becomes a third presence in this two-character drama." Szabó received the Silver Bear Award in Berlin upon the international release of the film. (István Szabó, 1979, 35mm, Hungarian with subtitles, 101 minutes)

6. Taking Sides

February 16 at 4:30PM

With controversial German composer and conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler as the focus, Taking Sides returns to the theme of politicized art in Nazi Germany that was so skillfully explored earlier by Szabó in Mephisto (1981, see next page). Ronald Harwood's eponymous 1995 play, on which Taking Sides is based, recounts the fictional investigation of Furtwängler (Stellan Skarsgard) by an American officer (Harvey Keitel) who is shipped to post-World War II Germany to examine the conductor's ties with the Nazi regime. Besides well-placed archival documentary footage, the film's strength lies in the forceful rendition of the confrontation between the two men. (István Szabó, 2001, 35mm, Hungarian with subtitles, 105 minutes)

7. Sunshine

February 17 at 4:00PM

Sunshine ambitiously chronicles the history of twentieth century Central Europe through three generations of men in a wealthy Hungarian Jewish family. Subsequently living through the upheavals of world wars and dictatorships, the dynasty's rise and fall closely intertwines with the broader context of world history. Ralph Fiennes portrays the son, grandson, and great-grandson of Emmanuel Sonnenschein, the patriarch with whom this epic journey begins at the turn of the last century. (István Szabó, 1999, 35mm, Hungarian with subtitles, 180 minutes)

8. Being Julia

February 23 at 4:00PM

Based on W. Somerset Maugham's 1937 novel Theater, Being Julia explores the emotional and professional crises and triumphs of the celebrated British stage actress Julia Lambert. Nearing middle age, she falls for the charms of a young American, ignoring the consequences the torrid affair might have on her career and marriage. As she slowly discovers her lover's true intentions, however, she plots revenge. Annette Bening's tour de force performance as the aging Julia and cinematographer Lajos Koltai's elegant rendition of 1930s London are electrifying. (István Szabó, 2004, 35mm, Hungarian with subtitles, 104 minutes)

9. Relatives

February 24 at 4:00PM

For his most recent film, István Szabó returned to a story from his homeland after a hiatus of over a decade. Following a predecessor's scandalous demise, a naïve civil servant is given the title attorney general in a small community near Budapest. In no time, requests for special favors mount up, as nearly everyone in town claims to be a distant relative. Szabó turned to a novel by celebrated Hungarian writer Zsigmond Móricz who, according to the director, offers "a precise and profound presentation of interpersonal relations in Hungary...that flawlessly conveys the tribal attitudes still driving the country to this day." (István Szabó, 2006, 35mm, Hungarian with subtitles, 110 minutes)

10. Mephisto

March 1 at 2:00PM

Szabó masterwork about a self-deceiving, narcissistic artist who rationalizes his moral compromises for the sake of personal success, Mephisto features Klaus Maria Brandauer as the actor who, under protection from a Nazi party member, leaves behind his left-wing theater roots and becomes a celebrated performer in an Aryan production of Goethe's Faust. Despite the evident symbolic links between the play and the film, Szabó "happily refuses to overstress the Faustian parallels of the perverse power-pact between the cultural icon and his Goebbels-like puppeteer," notes Paul Taylor. (István Szabó, 1981, 35mm, Hungarian with subtitles, 139 minutes) István Szabó will introduce the film.

11. Colonel Redl

March 1 at 4:30PM

Set against the atmosphere of a crumbling Austro-Hungarian empire, Colonel Redl (Klaus Maria Brandauer) probes the character of a man who rises from his Ruthenian working class roots to become a notorious colonel and spy for the Hapsburg army. Relinquishing racial, sexual, and social identity, Redl's submissive nature, paired with ambition, becomes the driving force of his existence. His true nature is exposed again only in the final dramatic moments. (István Szabó, 1984, 35mm, Hungarian with subtitles, 149 minutes) István Szabó will introduce the film.

12. Hanussen

March 2 at 4:30PM

While recovering from a wound after World War I, Austrian soldier Klaus Schneider discovers his impressive talents as a clairvoyant. Deciding to market his gift in the show business milieu frequented by the decadent postwar elite, he gains increasing fame in Vienna and Berlin under the stage name Hanussen. Despite his apolitical stance, his predictions and powers inevitably lead him to associate with the National Socialist rule. This final segment of Szabó informal trilogy (with Mephisto and Colonel Redl) is another striking collaboration between Szabó, actor Klaus Maria Brandauer, and cinematographer Lajos Koltai. (István Szabó, 1984, 35mm, Hungarian with subtitles, 130 minutes)

 For further information, see the Gallery’s Film Program, Winter 2008 at http://www.nga.gov/programs/film/istvan_szabo.shtm.