Customer Reviews

Magic Hunter [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Yes this film can be difficult to follow, definitely not one for your average couch potato. You must be fully awake to and perhaps even willing to work at it, but the effort is well worth the reward. A classic tale of human frailty opening the door for evil intentions. Rich in metaphor, a story within a story containing yet another each intertwined with the other. A mother begins a tale to comfort her daughter perhaps during a World War bombing raid, a tale of the future knitted with the past. A man looses his courage and confidence, evil offers a solution to his problem he accepts yet is not fully aware of the "deal". The film poses many situations found in everyday life carefully crafted against a rich cinematic background without being overly moralistic it speaks but does not proclaim.

The fact that I had trouble finding an adequate title for my review points to some agreement with other reviewers who cite there are so many pieces of this movie experience that the resulting tapestry is perhaps not as tightly woven or as continuous in pattern as many would like. But for me, it didn't have to be: the work is a wonderful, jumbly evocative blend of history and culture and movie thriller. Many elements in the Hungarian cultural un/consciousness (for example pagan/folk nature motives woven harmoniously into Christian ideology) represent quite vividly, I think, the mishmash tumble of many eras of influence upon a given nation's culture. Forget the demands of trying to make all the subplots and cross-time experiences merge into a conveniently logical storyplot; I don't think this is what the movie intended. It feels more like an immersion in an art gallery... where connections between paintings begin to make sense on an emotional level, not a mental one. Embedded in all these Hungarian socio-historical colors, there is actually a story and it's a great old legend of a tale. The plot is really a modern remake of the wonderful Weber opera, Der Freischutz (the spooky Wolf's Glen scene from the opera is vividly used, as is music from other multi-cultural influences). The hero marksman (as in the original story) frightened of his loss in shooting ability, is tempted into a fatal deal with Satan, who hands him magic bullets... all but one to fly exactly where the hero intends. The final one is reserved for Satan's target, although of course the hero is not to know that. And, as in the opera, Satan's target is the same innocent one whose death would destroy the hero the most. It's a very difficult story to portray in logical terms; the movie's ending is as strange (though different) as the opera's... but the result is the same feeling of magic and faith and love and weirdness. I thought the modernization of the old story worked very well; I loved the added colors of a people rich in diverse roots; and all the different kinds of music are tremendously well placed in helping to tell the story. My only question is why the lead actors were not Hungarians and were dubbed... surely charismatic, attractive Hungarian actors exist and have been seen on screen before. I did notice the dubbing. But it's still a fabulously unique and romantic work... I waited a long time for it to become available on video and I'm happy to own it. Now where's the soundtrack?

I like complex films that "work"; and this is one of the best I've seen. Moreover, as its title suggests, this is a work of magical realism -- the film is imbued with the sense of spirituality, magicalness, and malignancy.

The connection to Carl Maria von Weber's great opera Der Freischütz has already been mentioned. The plot of the opera is essentially the plot of the movie. The fact that the movie begins with a family attending the opera and needing to take shelter during a bombing is a link to the story itself.

The protagonist is a sniper for the state. We see him using his skill to rescue a hostage from her captor and then concerned about being inaccurate in his shooting. The Devil, or perhaps his earthly counterpoint, suggests a deal, providing magical bullets to the hero ... or does he.

Up to the final seconds of the movie we are not to know how much is metaphor, how much is suggestiveness, how much is real.

The origin of the state of Hungary is linked to a suggestion that now in some way the state is threatened, perhaps by this sniper. And, again, perhaps not.

All of which makes this sound too mystical. Not at all. Each thread, taken at is own face value, is a delight: The hunter who has his own issues, his own personal problems at home, and who must come to terms with them is sufficient to be a story in his own right. The story of the snails could easy be from any of the magical realism films that have made their way to the west from both the oriental and the romantic cultures.

And the intersection of history, opera - both story and music, parable, and deep personal need is handled perfectly, in my opinion.

The only question I have is where is the DVD?

There is much to like in this film, many scenes that fascinate and enchant--most notably, a very amusing sequence about an ineffectual Devil whose attempts to claim a soul earn him nothing but jeers. However, much about the film is obscure, and this hindered my enjoyment--for example, the time shifting has no purpose that I could discern. Most frustratingly, the film is confusing as to what is happening to the central character--Is he being led into temptation, or is he the innocent victim of a diabolic trick? Several scenes suggest the former, but he has little to do with the final crisis.--and so the point of the story is unclear. In brief: There is quite enough good about this film to make it worth seeing, but it is not a satisfying experience.

AND it's a DAVID BOWIE project so it must be good. tata