Young director Krisztina Goda makes a splash with her tightly wound and breathtakingly solid Hungarian revolution drama Szabadság, szerelem (Children of Glory). Like Verhoeven’s recent Zwartboek (Black Book) it offers a thrilling ride through recent European history modelled on the Hollywood blockbuster but infused with a particular European sensitivity -- and in szerelem’s case a strong love story. Perhaps not coincidentally, this reconfiguration of events surrounding the 1956 revolution and two bloody Hungary-Russia water polo matches was partially scripted by Joe Eszterhas, the screenwriter on Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct. The film was the most visited local feature of 2006 at home and will find arthouse red carpets rolled out across the continent after its screening as a 2007 Berlinale Special.

A boyish young girl gets up caught up in events beyond her comprehension in Hungarian writer-director Csaba Bollók’s evocative and exquisitely filmed Iszka utazása (Iszka’s Journey). Though the story of a child from a very poor background heading for a miserable future will not win any prizes for originality, its all-round high quality will assure it finds its way to festivals -- whether specialised in children’s fare or world cinema -- as well as healthy TV and maybe some DVD sales. The film is part of the upcoming Berlinale’s Generation sidebar.

Director Árpád Bogdán paints an impressionistic portrait of the adult life of one of the many children that grew up under government stewardship in Hungary in Boldog új élet (Happy New Life). Using the exquisite images from his cinematographers Márk Gyõri and Gábor Szabó, Bogdán puts together a moving and intimate look at the uncertainty brought about by a sense of incomplete identity. The film will be part of the Panorama section at the upcoming Berlinale and deserves more such prestigious festival slots, though commercial distribution might be difficult because of its uncompromising style: the film is more a sensorial than a narrative experience.

A Hungarian matchmaker is hit by the arrows of cupid himself when he tries to help a client conquer the woman of his life in the popular romantic comedy S.O.S. szerelem! (S.O.S. Love!). Starring Hungary’s current heartthrob Sándor Csányi, the film from cinematographer-turned-director Tamás Sas perfectly fits the Working Title mould and its makers could easily be trusted to set up a Hungarian branch of the UK company responsible for such hits as Bridget Jones’s Diary, Nothing Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Hungarian audiences will love it, but since romantic comedies rarely travel well other European audiences might be more interested in local remakes.