Bourgeois Dictionary
Private Hungary 7

Private Hungary's roll call of family members is reminiscent of the grand and ghostly survivors assembled at the party of the Prince de Guermantes as described by Proust in the final volume of À la recherche du temps perdu, dining together, sharing good times, romance, intrigues, and jealousy. Because suppressed memory eludes direct address, this elegiac, silent mode with voiceover is Forgács' solution to the tragic fate of those who lie at the silent heart of books and films produced in this post-communist moment.

"I wanted neither to be sentimental, nor to construct worlds only of those under repression and segregation. I don't know how I would behave in such circumstances...the account is there, you have to face it-it's burning, still, in me-not ash, but fire. I wanted you, the audience, to be hurt, too. The lamentation is somewhere, nowhere, everywhere-it's more universal. I love it when an audience is silent after this film- then I know it's worked."

Catherine Portuges

VIDEO INTRO FROM BOURGEOIS DICTIONARY

credits
1992 - 49 minutes - video

Director • Péter Forgács
Music • Tibor Szemzõ
Editor • Márta Révész
Sound mix • Kati Gulyás
Advisors • Gábor Ferenczi, András Forgách
Production assistant • Komjáthi Ferenc
Music recording • László Hortobágyi
Assistant • Zsuzsa Ujj

produced in association with
Béla Balázs Studio & MTV Rt. - FMS 1992
This film was made possible by the support of the
Private Photo & Film Archives and the Soros Foundation

distributor
Péter Forgács
info@forgacspeter.hu