Perlasca: The Courage of a Just Man (2002)

It is the real story of Giorgio Perlasca (Luca Zingaretti). During the 1920s he was an Italian Fascist supporter, fighting in Africa an in the Spanish civil war where he deserved a safe ... See full summary »

Director:

Alberto Negrin

Writers:

Enrico Deaglio (novel), Sandro Petraglia

Stars:

Luca Zingaretti, Jérôme Anger, Amanda Sandrelli

5 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luca Zingaretti	...	Giorgio Perlasca
Jérôme Anger	...	Farkas ügyvéd
Amanda Sandrelli	...	Magda
Franco Castellano	...	Adam
Marco Bonini	...	Sandor
Lorenzo Lavia	...	Daniel
Elena Arvigo	...	Anna
Christiane Filangieri	...	Eva (as Christiane Filangeri)
György Cserhalmi	...	Bleiber
Jean-François Garreaud	...	Professor (as Jean Francois Garreaud)
Dezsö Garas	...	Rabbi
Palle Granditsky	...	Jacob (as Palle Granditzky)
Alvaro Gradella	...	Ufficiale Szarka
Giuliana Lojodice	...	M.me Tournè
Mathilda May	...	Contessa Eleonora

Storyline

It is the real story of Giorgio Perlasca (Luca Zingaretti). During the 1920s he was an Italian Fascist supporter, fighting in Africa an in the Spanish civil war where he deserved a safe conduct for Spanish embassies. After some years, disillusioned by fascism, he is a fresh supplier for the Italian army. In the war years he is in Budapest for his business. He lives an easy life there, well introduced into the Hungarian high society, without any problem coming from the war situation. When the Nazi occupied Hungary, in 1944, instead to leave (Italy had already surrendered to the Allies) he escaped to the Spanish embassy in Budapest using his old safe conduct and becoming a Spanish citizen, changing name into Jorge Perlasca. He starts working as a diplomat here. When Sanz Briz (Geza Tordy), the Spanish consul, is removed, Perlasca immediately substitutes him, like if he was officially appointed from Spanish authorities. All the Nazi, the Hungarian authorities believe him. In his new fake...

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Plot Keywords:

hiding a jew | child in danger | false identity | army | soviet | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Boldogság-duett
excerpt of the operetta Csárdáskirálynõ
Written by Emmerich Kálmán

User Reviews

Worth watching

Luca Zingarelli is great as Perlasca. It is a story about courage in the face of oppression and tragedy. Perlasca was a fighter for the Spanish & Italian fascists and changed over to his human side when confronted by the brutality of the fascists against the Hungarian Jews. Not Jewish himself, he risked his life against the Nazis and saved almost 6,000 Jews, posing as the Spanish Ambassador after Spain closed down their embassy.

Zingarelli's performance is astounding and you are on edge the entire film - as his monumental energy in not letting one victim die if he can disallow it, comes into view throughout. There are many touching human moments where people connect in the film. How Perlasca plays with the children, how he deals with young & old alike. How he deals with so many in shock with tenderness, strength and decency commands your attention in this very long film. I believe it was supposed to be watched over two nights in Italy, but I watched the 3 hour movie in one sitting. Great performances including Magda and Farkas, the consul. Bring popcorn.

Details

Country:

Italy France Sweden Hungary

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

28 January 2002 (Italy)

Also Known As:

El cónsul Perlasca

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rai Fiction, France 2 (FR2), Hamster Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

197 min (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1