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| Images courtesy Menemsha Films |
Really good noir can use it’s setting as an engaging part of the plot, with parts of a city even becoming a character. But that doesn’t happen in Budapest Noir. This film doesn’t take advantage of the storied history of Budapest to elevate this above an homage. However, watching this with low expectations and a desire to see typical noir set in a European country could make this more enjoyable.
There’s an attempt to realistically situate the story by opening it with the death of political leader Gyula Gömbös de Jákfa in 1936, but nothing is really done with that historical fact other than a character explaining how Gömbös was wanting to more closely align with Hitler.
Our antihero, grizzled reporter Gordon Zsigmond (Kristian Kolovratnik), is introduced by having a beautiful woman at a café stick him with her bill and disappear. And, then, as most noirs begin, a woman is murdered, and our antihero is on the case. Zsigmond makes his way through pre-WWII Budapest, talking to politicians, police, and shady characters, all while angering nearly everyone he comes into contact with. As noir antiheroes usually do, Zsigmond gets pummeled by various people along the way.
There’s really no surprises along the way for noir fans. There’s a cover up, some family drama, and, to remind you of the time period, some anti-Semitism.
The movie was filmed entirely in Budapest, with a few notable shots of cinematography. The production value and art direction look like the film may have been a made-for-TV, and it could actually be, if it weren’t for a couple scenes of gratuitous nudity.
After a somewhat shocking climax, we see Zsigmond walking off down a picturesque street at night, just before the credits roll. The viewer is left to feel like this movie hit the right notes for a noir, but added nothing new.
There were myriad ways the film could have been more than a nostalgic rehashing of this genre: incorporating more historical elements as part of the plot instead of as just a few mood-setting scenes, and using Budapest as more than just a backdrop. But fans of the genre will find this a brief, diverting 90 minutes.
Budapest Noir is streaming on Tubi and Kanopy.
-EB