Gloomy Sunday (5 Stars)

On a sad Sunday with a hundred white flowers,
I was waiting for you my dearest with a prayer.
A Sunday morning, chasing after my dreams,
The carriage of my sorrow returned to me without you.
It is since then that my Sundays have been forever sad.

Sad Sunday.

This last Sunday, my darling, please come to me
There will be a priest, a coffin, a catafalque and a winding-sheet.
There will be flowers for you, flowers and a coffin,
Under the blossoming trees it will be my last journey.
My eyes will be open, so that I could see you for a last time,
Don't be afraid of my eyes, I'll be blessing you in your death.

The last Sunday.

In 1933 a previously unknown Hungarian composer wrote a song called "Gloomy Sunday". It was recorded and released as a gramophone record in Hungary and became an immediate hit. Following this it was released in America and became a hit worldwide. The above lyrics are a literal translation of the Hungarian song. The English version, first sung by Hal Kemp, was released in 1936 with these words:

Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless,

Dearest the shadows I live with are numberless.

Little white flowers will never awaken you,

Not where the black coach of sorrow has taken you.

Angels have no thought of ever returning you,

Would they be angry if I thought of joining you?

Gloomy Sunday.

Gloomy is Sunday, with shadows I spend it all,

My heart and I have decided to end it all.

Soon there'll be candles and prayers that are said, I know,

Let them not weep, let them know that I'm glad to go.

Death is no dream, for in death I'm caressing you,

With the last breath of my soul I'll be blessin' you.

Gloomy Sunday.

The song became notorious when there were reports of a string of suicides committed in Hungary by people while listening to the song. The wave of suicides spread across the world and became largest after Billie Holiday recorded the song in 1941. The BBC banned Billie Holiday's version from being played on radio because of its adverse effects on the listeners; this ban remained in force until 2002. Nevertheless, musicians have been fascinated by this song for over 70 years, and it has been recorded countless times, including versions by Ray Charles, Elvis Costello, Sinead O'Connor, Loreena McKennitt and Bjork.

The song is the subject of this German film, made in 1999. It makes no claims to be a true story, it's simply a tale of the composer and three other people connected with the song.

Laszlo owns a luxurious restaurant in the centre of Budapest in the 1930's, which he runs with the help of his waitress and lover Ilona. They hire a pianist, Andras, to entertain the guests. Andras immediately falls in love with Ilona, and she can't decide between the two of them. After initial jealousy both men accept the situation and are glad to share her affections. A short time later they are visited by a German businessman, Hans Wieck, who also falls in love with Ilona and proposes marriage during his first visit to the restaurant. She turns him down because she can only love Laszlo and Andras. In the same evening Andras plays a song that he has composed for Ilona called "Gloomy Sunday". After leaving Hans attempts to drown himself, but Laszlo saves his life, which is the beginning of a lifelong friendship between the two men.

The Second World War begins. The cinema newsreels name Hitler and Andras as two men who have become famous and are causing many deaths; Hitler in Europe alone, Andras throughout the world.

A few years later Hungary is being occupied by Germany. Hans returns to Budapest as the SS officer responsible for rounding up the Jews in the city and sending them to concentration camps. Laszlo is a Jew, but Hans promises that no harm will come to him. Hans has no particular dislike for the Jews, but he is an evil man without scruples. He expects Germany to lose the war, so he makes deals with rich Jews, offering to let them leave the country if they pay him $1000 each, which must have been an enormous amount in the 1940's. He tells them that these are "necessary expenses" and asks them to remember him after the war. I won't say any more about the film because it would involve spoilers, except that Hans's plan succeeds. When the war ends he is immensely rich, and he is universally praised as a hero who saved Jews.

This is a beautifully made film, and the unusual love affair is strangely touching. It's all the more bizarre that the three main characters enjoy their love oblivious to the mounting deaths around them. Andras is unaware of the destruction he's unleashed. And the song is haunting as it's performed throughout the film.

Click here to view the trailer.

Click here to listen to the song in a music video with scenes from the film. This might give you a better feeling of the film's atmosphere than the trailer itself.