Various European film directors agreed to make short documentaries of their favorite city in the early 1980s, and this is Miklos Jancso's contribution to this series, an exploration of the sights of Budapest through every kind of music heard on its streets, in its nightclubs, and in concert halls and homes. By adroitly moving from one musical scene to the next via visual cues, the director has connected disparate "cultures" enjoying life in an urban overlap or juxtaposition. As young girls sing together alongside the Danube, the camera moves inside a hotel lounge to show a pianist playing "Autumn Leaves" by Joseph Kosma while the girls can still be seen through the window of the hotel. Other citizens are shown singing or playing music to themselves at different points in the city, underscoring the director's thesis that Budapest is inconceivable without music.
by Eleanor Mannikka
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