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We have to admit that József Nepp wrote an incredible screenplay. That doesn't mean that we want to diminish the merits of the director, Béla Ternovszky: the success of his film surpassed all expectations. The story is strikingly clever, multi-layered, and the dialogue feels like the best of the old days of Hungarian cabaret. It is also multi-faceted. At first glance it feels not just like a parody of James Bond, but also a super-hero parody too. There is a hint of vampire films and music videos, as well as a dollop of squalid dystopia, a threatening future that has - in fact - already arrived.
And just for the youngsters: biometric identification, autonomous weapons, GPS, uninterrupted monitoring, total surveillance and self-driving cars were not common practice in the 1980s. Perhaps that is one of the reasons that many critics saw Cat City as on some level a reaction to what Hungarians called the 'Little Cold War.' It is difficult to say. Especially as it is hard to know who is on what side. In any case, on this side of the Iron Curtain, it was common for the parodies to reach us before the original films themselves. We loved them. Yet why did it become such a big hit on the other side, too? It is difficult to say. It was number one in the UK VHS market for a while, and did well in America too. Perhaps it is partly due to the film's complexity. Some are struck by its linguistic inventiveness, others by the superb songs and Tamás Deák's accompanying film score, some by the incredible wit of Teufel, Safranek and Lusta Dick. There also some sophisticated intellectual references. Of course, just because some viewers may not have read Thoreau or sought out the statue of Cincinnatus in Schönbrunn, that doesn't mean they didn't enjoy a complete experience. And if they had, then they adored the wink in their direction. The world is a little different now. There is a serious abundance of top agents and superheroes. One thing is for sure: Nick Grabowski is still ready to save the world.
In Hungarian, without subtitles.
The discussions before and after the screening will be conducted in Hungarian.
Presented by: Müpa Budapest
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We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.
