Rose`s Songs

Colour, 35 mm
Hungary, Italy, 2003, 98 min
Section: Official selection
Oficiální stránky: www.arozsaenekei.hu

Synopsis

Autumn 1944. Long-time Jewish settlers from Budapest suffer increasing despair and resignation. Fascist terror has become a part of their everyday misery, and people wearing yellow stars have little chance of survival. They are sent to a ghetto and only one road leads out – the road to death. However, a few men and women have found a secret refuge in a suburban villa, and they hold out a bit of hope: the owner of the house is Imre Rózsa, a world famous opera singer who, despite being Jewish, is untouchable thanks to his exceptional social standing. Rózsa doesn’t see his guests: he remains in his room upstairs; those staying below can only hear him singing. Caretaker Géza Halász, the sole person in contact with their host, keeps the entire household running. During a serious crisis befalling the villa’s inhabitants, only Géza makes the right decisions and shows bravery. No one knows this better than the caretaker’s 14-year-old son. The film is based on real events.

About the director

Andor Szilagyi (b. 1955, Szolnok) has mainly been occupied writing plays, novels and scripts. In 2000 he was awarded the Hartley-Merrill Prize for his screenplay for Russian Tarot (Orosz tarot). Rose´s Songs (A Rózsa énekei) is his feature debut, and it took Best Screenplay at the national festival in Budapest in 2003.