Cinema
Daniel Takes a Train
Szerencsés Dániel
Pál Sándor · 1983
Synopsis
December 1956. The revolution has been crushed, and many see no future except on the other side of the border. Mariann, whom young Dani loves, is preparing to leave with her family and writes to him to follow her. Dani sets off for the border with his friend Angeli Gyuri. From the Eastern Station onwards a suspicious character appears, Kapás Iván, and the packed train mixes fugitives, informers and ordinary travellers, whom we then meet again in a provincial hotel where they wait for the smuggler.
Context
The film is drawn from a story by András Mezei, adapted by Zsuzsa Tóth, and was shot in 1982. It was released in Budapest on 10 March 1983, and was presented the same year on the Croisette, at Cannes. It was also one of the first Hungarian films to tackle 1956 head-on, around the question of leaving or staying. Péter Rudolf plays the role of Dani, with Mari Törőcsik, Dezső Garas and Gyula Bodrogi.
Who it is for
A film of atmosphere more than action, which is better understood by knowing what the exodus of 1956 was; no French release has been located.
Prizes and reception
International Critics' Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1983, and grand prize of the national film review the same year.