Szabo: Finding My Roots

Growing up I always felt like an outsider. When I started school and the other kids would find out I was Hungarian, they would make me feel like I didn't belong. My family was different. We ate different food, usually a good plate of goulash or chicken paprikash, we listened to different music, watched different movies and spoke a different language at home. Why was I so different? How could I fit in?

As I got older however those feelings changed. Sure I still felt a certain distance from my classmates, but, I started to appreciate my Hungarian heritage. And to a very large extent that was due to the films of Istvan Szabo.

Istvan Szabo is one of the great Hungarian filmmakers. He was part of the Hungarian New Wave during the 1960s along with Miklos Jancso, Karoly Makk and Martha Meszaros. Together these filmmakers were not only exploring the technical aspects of cinema but they were showing outsiders about Hungary. People who normally would know nothing about the culture of Hungary were now seeing what these people looked like, how they spoke and most importantly, they were learning about the history of the country.

I never knew much about Hungary's history. I heard the stories from my grandparents or my parents about what life was like under communism and the importance of '56, but it wasn't until I watched Szabo's films I started to appreciate what my family and other Hungarians went through. Watching the films of Szabo I realized I was watching films made by a man who had a love of country and wanted others to know about its history.

When I first saw films such as "Apa (Father)" or "Szerelmesfilm (Love Film)" I became deeply affected by them. One can argue there have been more accomplished or influential filmmakers; Bergman, Fellini, Truffaut, Altman, Kubrick or Tarkovsky, but when I watch Szabo's films I feel as if he is speaking directly to me. I can understand what it is Szabo wants to say.

Szabo's only film to win an Oscar was "Mephisto", a semi-autobiography film based on the Faust legend. In that film an actor sells out to the Nazis in order to achieve fame. Szabo in real life had to sell out. He worked for the Communist after the '56 uprising. It went against everything he believed in, but, it was his only way to survive. He didn't want to leave his country. We see this duality in Szabo's other characters. People who realized Communist Hungary could not give them the life they wanted, yet, they did not want to leave home.

Luckily Szabo continues to make films. His masterpiece "Sunshine" was released in 2000. His film "Being Julia" won Annette Bening an Oscar nomination. And now for his last two films he has returned to Budapest. His film "Rokonok (Relatives)" is a look at Communist Hungary and corrupt politicians, a favorite theme of Szabo's films, the corruption of power, and his yet to be released "Utas es holdvilag (Journey by Moonlight)" is based on a classic novel by Antal Szerb.

I had the pleasure of meeting Szabo once. We talked about my appreciation for his films and the impact they have had on me. He was shockingly nice. He was giving a lecture on the importance of the close-up, and afterwards actually took the time to speak to everyone that wanted to talk to him, for as long as they wanted.