This is basically a modern fairy tale in which a number of young people struggle to fulfill their dreams of getting away to an Unpeopled Island, an imagined Paradise out in the Pacific where one lives peacefully ever after away from the madness and stress of the modern world. In the movie we see the magic island only in a funny model mock-up. An unlikely ménage-à-trois develops between a beautiful runaway bride who becomes a skyscraper window washer (!) an unscrupulous female taxi driver who steals a bunch of money from a Mafia boss, and a failed wannabe NBA basketball star who beds down every girl he can gets his hands on. They are soon joined by a sexy older woman who is sitting on her mothers secret fortune but can't access it, and finally by the young bridegroom who was left in the lurch, to make it a kind of ménage-à-cinq at the end.
The feeling us something like an update of Shakespeare's Midsummer Nights Dream with touches of Billy Wilder humor, but the execution is state-of-the-art international entertainment.
The butch looking cabbie is played by Eszter Bánfalvy, a theater actress with striking off- beat looks, the handsome basketball player is Tamas Mohai, another young theater actor who comes on like a veteran in a rip-roaring film debut, effective and charming --the lady of the treasure is established film star Judith Schell, who doesn't exactly steal scenes, but you can't take your eyes off her when she's there (with that magical golden mascara!) and the runaway bride is Juli Jakab, a writer and model with no previous film experience, who was cast by director Török because she looked perfect for the part --the camera loves her -- and she looks like a new edition of a very young Grace Kelly with ultra porcelain skin. The film has style, energy, a very colorful mise-en-scene (pastel shade backgrounds and flying fish), a fast butnot runaway pace, grippy situations, and winning performances allaround -- even the bad guy looks good
(popular Screen and TV comedicactor András Stohl -- interesting how many Hungarian actors have Germannames!) -- SO, who could ask for anything more? -- Now all I have to do is see it again with English subtitles so I can make sure I wasn't just seeing things.
