"Just Sex and Nothing Else"*** 1\2 (out of ****)
It is through cinema many people get their impressions of other cultures. During the Cold War and beyond most Americans have felt Hungarians are depressed/surpressed people. And, for most of history that had been true. The Turks, Austrians and the Soviets have all occupied the country. Most people think of Hungary as a Communist country. That the weather is always bleak.
These views are a backwards way of looking at Hungary and its people.
Having just returned from Budapest I can tell you Hungary is a lot more like what you see in "Just Sex and Nothing Else". Budapest is a modern city. It even has a McDonald's! People walk around in modern fashions and the women! Don't get me started on that.
But life in Hungary is no different than life in any other big city. People ride taxis and subways, go to work and struggling with morning traffic and search for love.
"Just Sex and Nothing Else" is kind of the Hungarian "Bridget Jones' Diary" Originally made in 2005 I saw the film at the 2006 International Chicago Film Festival, where I feel in love with it. I thought it was one of the best films at the festival. But sadly since that time the film seems to have distribution problems as it has never been properly distributed in theatres in America or on DVD. So, while in Budapest I bought a copy of the movie.
Like "Bridget Jones", this film follows a 30-something year old woman, Dora (Judit Schell), who has come to the conclusion her biological clock is ticking away. After a bad break-up with a man she didn't realize was married with children. Dora decides she is through with love and only wants a man to give her a child and never see her again.
Currently Dora is working as a writer on a play. The company is doing a production of Dangerous Liaisons, which is being directed by Pasko (Karoly Gesztesi). The male lead goes to Tamas (Hungarian heartrob Sandor Csanyi), who is seen as a ladies man, who gets through life based on his looks. It is alleged the reason he was fired from his last job was because he was having an affair with the boss' wife.
Dora hates men like Tamas, especially since her break-up. But, might he be the perfect, irresponsible man to give her a child and never see her again?
The film, co-written and directed by Krisztina Goda, follows in the old-fashioned formula of having the lead characters overcome a series of misunderstandings which keeps the couple apart until the end.
While the formula is nothing new the film can only succeed if the characters are likeable and the two leads have chemistry. Luckily the answer to both questions is yes.
Schell and Csanyi were both part of the Radnoti Theatre in Budapest and the two have appeared in previous films together including "Stop Mom Theresa". Because of this they know how to play off each other. They understand how the other approaches a role having been in the same theatre group.
And the script written by Goda, along with Reka Divinyi and Gabor Heller, has many funny one-liners and a surprising amount of insight between the sexes. The film knows its limits but that doesn't mean it shouldn't do what it is going to do well. It never over-steps its bounds but settles very comfortably in its shoes. And I admire that.
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