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Budapest Tales (1977) poster

1977 · hungarian · allegory · postwar

Budapest Tales

Directed by István Szabó1h 30m1977

"Budapest Tales" is about a group of people (consisting of Szabo regular Andras Balint along with Ildiko Bansagi and Karoly Kovacs) who find a broken down tram while trying to go to the city. The people band together and try to get the tram back on the train tracks and head towards the city. Along this journey the passengers encounter many people who join them on the tram. What started out as only a handful of people has now turned into a small village. As the people travel on to the city each person takes on certain roles and through the course of time these roles will change. Some people fall in love, others out of love, and a few even die. But life goes on. The people keep the tram going hoping to reach Budapest.

Our read: Budapest Tales (1977) reads as a sombre, steady, inventive hungarian · allegory · postwar entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, measured in temperature, ambivalent in outlook, with a strong directorial signature.

Movie DNA

Sombre, steady, measured hungarian / allegory, inventive in texture. Ambivalent, mid-stakes, measured.

ElsewhereIMDb6.7268TMDB6.310
  • sombre
  • inventive
Video previewNo trailer available for this one.
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Where the cast leads
DNA · twelve axes

How Budapest Tales feels to watch.

Each axis is scored by hand, not from votes or genre averages. The bar uses the film's own colours.

MoodHeavy ↔ Cosy
PacingSlow-burn ↔ Kinetic
IntensityGentle ↔ Extreme
WeirdnessConventional ↔ Surreal
HopeNihilistic ↔ Redemptive
StakesIntimate ↔ Epic
HumourNone ↔ Broad
RealityGrounded ↔ Fantastical
DensitySparse ↔ Twisty
WarmthCold ↔ Tender
AuteurTransparent ↔ Signature
Tonight, this looks like

What watching it is actually like.

“You want an allegorical tale of strangers fixing a tram and finding community.”

ends warmit stays with youmeditativegrips by minute 15attention 3/5earns its lengthsubtitles: full
Date nightWith friendsSoloWith parentsKids around

Skip it tonight — Skip if you prefer fast plots over symbolic ensemble journeys.

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