Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Gloomy Sunday - Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod" is a German film from soon 20 years ago written and directed by Rolf Schübel. I have to say I am not really familiar with him, but I see that this one here is really his only famous work, even if he is still working in the industry today. The film runs for slightly under 2 hours, but never really drags which is a decent achievement. The cast includes Joachim Król, Ben Becker, Sebastian Koch, Denis Moschitto and Oscar nominee Ulrike Grote. I am not familiar with the female lead, even if she is really stunning or the third male lead actor. The film is set in Hungary, so it should not come as a surprise that many of the actors for smaller characters are Hungarian themselves.The movie is about a young woman who is torn between 2, maybe even 3, men, but this is just the side-plot. It's not about whom she will pick as her beloved, it really is a lot more about the political circumstances of that era, especially in the second half of the film when Becker shows up again as a decorated soldier and Hungarian Jews are constantly killed in Nazi gas chambers. So it is a bit a mix of relationship drama and war-themed contents and I liked it. I think Schübel found a good balance between love and death in his film here, as the title already suggests. There are no moments of true greatness, but it is a very watchable film and I was entertained from start to finish. I also like it when characters are fairly unclear if they are good or bad and have shades of character. Becker's is the perfect example for this and even if he probably never reached his father popularity, he is one of the best things about this movie here. I recommend watching it. Thumbs up.

Galina Gloomy Sunday - Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod directed by Rolf Schübel in 1999 is a romantic, absorbing, beautiful, and heartbreaking movie. It started like Jules and Jim; it ended as one of Agatha Christie's books, and in between it said something about love, friendship, devotion, jealousy, war, Holocaust, dignity, and betrayal, and it did better than The Black Book which is much more popular. It is not perfect, and it made me, a cynic, wonder in the end on the complexity of the relationships and sensational revelations, and who is who to whom but the movie simply overwhelmed me. Perfect or not, it is unforgettable. All four actors as the parts of the tragic not even a triangle but a rectangle were terrific. I do believe that three men could fell deeply for one girl as beautiful and dignified as Ilona in a star-making performance by young Hungarian actress Erica Marozsán and who would not? The titular song is haunting, sad, and beautiful, and no doubt deserves the movie been made about it and its effect on the countless listeners. I love the movie and I am surprised that it is so little known in this country. It is a gem.The fact that it is based on a story of the song that had played such important role in the lives of all characters made me do some research, and the real story behind the song of Love and Death seems as fascinating as the fictional one. The song was composed in 1930s by Rezsö Seress and was believed to have caused many suicides in Hungary and all over Europe as the world was moving toward the most devastating War of the last century. Rezsö Seress, a Jewish-Hungarian pianist and composer, was thrown to the Concentration Camp but survived, unlike his mother. In January, 1968, Seress committed suicide in Budapest by jumping out of a window. According to his obituary in the New York Times, "Mr. Seres complained that the success of "Gloomy Sunday" actually increased his unhappiness, because he knew he would never be able to write a second hit." Many singers from all over the world have recorded their versions of the songs in different languages. Over 70 performers have covered the song since 1935, and some famous names include Billie Holiday, Paul Robeson, Pyotr Leschenko (in Russian, under title "Mratschnoje Woskresenje"), Bjork, Sarah McLachlan, and many more. The one that really got to me and made me shiver is by Diamanda Galás, the Greek born American singer/pianist/performer with the voice of such tragic power that I still can't get over her singing. Galás has been described as "capable of the most unnerving vocal terror", and in her work she mostly concentrates on the topics of "suffering, despair, condemnation, injustice and loss of dignity." When she sings the Song of Love and Death, her voice that could've belonged to the most tragic heroines of Ancient Greece leaves no hope and brings the horror and grief of love lost forever to the unbearable and incomparable heights.8.5/10

Gordon-11 This film is about the life of a woman, who got caught between 2 lovers against a backdrop of the turbulent times of the Holocaust.Words cannot describe how beautiful and powerful this film is. Everything is excellent. The sets are beautiful, and the scenes are beautifully composed. Ilona is great as the lady which every men would fall in love with. She has this graceful elegance which is very magnetic. Laszlo's work as the restaurant owner is convincing, he has every detail of the restaurant under control. The music is great. When I listened to the song "Gloomy Sunday', I felt this chill spreading through my body, as if I was going to be the next victim. Another highlight for me is the uptight secretary who lives by the book, which is clearly a satire about the German culture. The plot is highly touching and powerful, and I do urge everyone to see this beautiful film.

Armand The charm of this film consist in the way to tell old things, in the description art of a well - known world."Gloomy Sunday" is a kind of Frankenstein's creature: pieces of "Lili Marleen", "Casablanca" or "The story of 1900", slices of Hungarian's atmosphere, Nazi ghost and menage en trois.For all that, it is a good movie, his virtue is, in fact, just absence of originality. Like many other movies, the spell is result of a mysterious flavor who persist in your memory months, years and in special moment it saves the image of a sweet trip.Undoubtedly, it is the story of a song, in same measure that the song is the only character. But, at second sight, it is a warm homage to Mitteleuropa, the gorgeous Kakania's spirit. The lost of youth and the last recollection's skin. The shadow of Goethe's "The Sorrows of Young Werther" is powerful and insidious.A subtle wishfulness anatomy. And a song like his backbone.