20/10/2005

Three European productions will try, from today on, to smash the American domination of the Hungarian box-office (18 films out of 20 premieres from 13 -16 October). Only the French film Le Transporteur 2 by Louis Leterrier (distributed by Intercom) attempts to hold back the US tide, holding its place on the podium after four weeks of exhibition with a cumulative total of 326 000 euros. Note too the entry in 10th place of the British film Ladies in Lavender [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Charles Dance.

Arriving on the screens today is Eros by Wong Kar Wai, Steven Soderbergh and Michelangelo Antonioni. This international co-production, involving Italian partners (Fandango), Français (Roissy Films, Cité Films) and British (Ipso Facto) is distributed on the Hungarian screens by SPI International. For its part, Budapest Film releases the documentary Dogora by Patrice Leconte co-produced by French outfits Epithète Films and Zoulou Films. But the most eagerly awaited new arrival this week on Hungarian screens is no doubt the comedy Egy szoknya, egy nadrág by Barna Kabay, a specialist in the genre (Hyppolit in 1999 and Meseautó en 2000). Remake of a classic of Hungarian cinema directed by Hamza D. Ákos in 1943 (One Skirt, One Pants) in the era of the burlesque and the absurd, the 2005 version is produced by Európa 2000 with Cinemastar as co-producer. In the cast figure notably Péter Rudolf, Imre Bajor, Judit Pogány, Szonja Oroszlán, András Kern and Béla Szerednyey. Note that the film, distributed today in theatres by Best International, benefited from tax incentives favouring Hungarian shoots, supervised by the National Film Office.

(Translated from French)