Gloomy Sunday - Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod (1999)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Rolf Schübel

Writers:

Nick Barkow (novel)
Rolf Schübel (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 October 1999 (Germany)

Genre:

Romance | Drama

Plot:

Budapest in the thirties. The restaurant owner Laszlo hires the pianist András to play in his restaurant...

Plot Keywords:

Restaurant | Pianist | Suicide | Restaurant Owner | Waitress

Awards:

6 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Erika Marozsán	...	Ilona
Joachim Król	...	László
Ben Becker	...	Hans Wieck
Stefano Dionisi	...	András
András Bálint	...	Ilonas Sohn
Géza Boros	...	Geigenspieler
Rolf Becker	...	Herr Wieck
Ilse Zielstorff	...	Frau Wieck
Ferenc Bács	...	Botschafter
Júlia Zsolnai	...	Frau des Botschafters
Aron Sipos	...	Arzt
Ernst Kahl	...	Zeichner Torresz
Jörg Gillner	...	Chefkoch István
Denis Moschitto	...	Lehrling Inas
István Mikó	...	Kartoffelhändler

Also Known As:

Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod - Gloomy Sunday (Germany) (DVD title)
Gloomy Sunday (USA)
Szomorú vasárnap (Hungary)
The Piano Player (USA)

Runtime:

112 min | Argentina:113 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

Germany | Hungary

Language:

German | English | Hungarian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB | Argentina:16 | Germany:12 (bw) | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18

Filming Locations:

Alster, Hamburg, Germany

Company:

Studio Hamburg Filmproduktion

Trivia:

The film has been running daily at the Academy Arts Centre Theatre in Christchurch, New Zealand since 2001 - and you still have book in advance because it is sold out (it's shown in a small 11-seat theatre).

Soundtrack:

Csak Inni, Inni

Haunting is the only way to describe the melancholic film Gloomy Sunday.

The adult-orientated film explores such heavy issues as love, jealousy, hatred and betrayal in a graphic way that leaves the viewer reeling for hours afterwards. The German film, with English subtitles, begins in modern times at a Budapest restaurant where an elderly couple are enjoying a meal to celebrate the man's 80th birthday. He asks for the musicians to play `that famous song' as he focuses on a photograph of a beautiful young woman at the piano. As the violin plays the notes of Gloomy Sunday he keels over and dies. What follows is not so much a `whodunit' but who died and why. The audience is taken to pre-war Budapest restaurant owned by László Szabó (Joachim Król), a Jew, and his waitress and sometimes girlfriend Ilona Varniá (Erika Marozán). As the story unfolds the audience is introduced to the pianist András Aradi (Stefana Dionisi), who falls for Ilona, and composes the haunting Gloomy Sunday in her honour. A German industrialist, Hans Eberhard Wieker (Ben Becker), becomes a regular at the restaurant and he, too, falls for Ilona's charms. As the film progresses, and the men are vying for Ilona's affections, the song is recorded and sweeps the world. So heart-breaking is the song that more than one hundred people commit suicide while listening to it on their gramaphone. Some of these suicides are shown on screen. As World War II breaks out Wieker becomes a colonel in the German army and has a power over the other two men that, ultimately, leads to disaster for all involved. From a production point of view Gloomy Sunday cannot be faulted with authentic locales, clothes and music. Gloomy Sunday is a complex story that deals with the depravity of man, and its disastrous effects, as the three male leads share one women. Set against the backdrop of the holocaust there are elements of Schindler's List and a tone that matches Jane Campion's The Piano. Definitely an adult movie.