István Hirtling

The fate of a Hungarian Jewish family throughout the 20th century.

During the Seven Years War, Austrian Queen Maria Theresa sends her best general, András Hadik and his Hussars to raid Berlin and humiliate the Prussian King, Frederick the Great.

Archduke Rudolf, the only son of Franz Joseph, the pretender to the Habsburg Empire, was found dead in the hunting lodge at Mayerling on 30 January 1889. For a long time, few people knew the circumstances of his death; the public could only speculate. There was talk of failing health, murder for political reasons or out of fear of love, suicide...

Dani was always the good boy at school and is about to get married. He bumps into Tímea Hajnal, who is now a top model but is trying to get over a humiliating break-up. After a few glasses of wine, they fall into each other’s arms, which wouldn’t be so bad on the face of it, but there’s a tiny problem: Bögöcs, the bad boy of the class, has been recording everything on his mobile phone, and he’s thinking of using it to finally be able to fulfil his teenage dream - to sleep with Tímea. He threatens to show the video to Dani’s fiancée if he doesn’t take steps to set things up for him with Tímea. The pressure very quickly starts to have consequences for Dani’s relationship with his bride-to-be, as she starts to nag him chronically. The wedding is fast approaching, and Dani has to do something…

The subway driver Szabó János is tired of conflicts, that so many other people across the town share the same name, so he decides to kill all of them, that he will be the only one left.

The story takes place at the time of the defeat of the Hungarian War of Independence, when Csákberény came under the terror of the imperial soldiers. Two priests from the village are arrested overnight for reading the Hungarian Declaration of Independence. Although the Austrian soldiers enjoy their power, they are unable to identify with the repression. The purpose of the trial of a military imprisonment court is to obtain a confession, to prove that a violation of sovereignty has been committed.

The hero of the story that takes place at the beginning of the nineteenth century and recalls real historical personages is Akli Miklós, the court jester of Emperor Ferenc.

A single gunshot and a pointed toothpick drive Lali to abandon his life and disappear, only to find himself stranding Feri, a high-profile Budapest lawyer, at the Üvegtigris snack bar while Lali hops into Feri’s Bentley convertible. As the pair roar through the city, Lali’s sudden swagger attracts a dazzling woman - and then another - launching him on an outrageous day of living large. What began as an impulsive escape becomes Lali’s wildest adventure yet, filled with fast cars, femme fatales and the thrill of starting over.