DEMOCRACY NOIR (B) - This earnest documentary conveys the oppression in Hungary through three women's attempts to battle the authoritarian regime that Viktor Orban started to craft after his election in 2010 and which has curdled ominously since. Director Connie Field gets up-close and personal with her three subjects -- opposition politician Timea Szabo; reporter Babett Oroszi; and nurse/activist Niko Antal -- as they oppose the regime in their own ways.
The principal economic beneficiary of Orban's good graces is old pal Lorinc Meszaros, a former gas-industry pipe-fitter who expeditiously became the richest man in Hungary. The most cynical ploy has been Orban taking funds from the European Union -- a group he despises and demonizes as anti-Christian and pro-immigrant -- and plowing them into projects around the country and taking credit for them as he pummels the EU as his personal punching bag.
Each woman is worthy of attention, though you can't help wondering how futile their efforts have been. That haunting thought is freighted with the context of living in America in 2025 and the ominous parallels that are obvious between Orban's rule and the current regime in Washington. But the women haven't given up, and perhaps their resistance will bear fruit or at least be recognized someday in a brighter future.
Director Field does a workmanlike job personalizing the stories while conveying loads of information covering the past two decades and the dizzying descent into authoritarianism. Her visual bookends feel trite, though -- she begins and ends the film with arty glamour shots of Budapest that feel forced and vain rather than faithful to the project at hand. I understand, though, her inclination to counteract the ugliness that seems to surround the country.
THE DYNASTY (B+) - From an independent journalism operation, Direkt36 (one of the few remaining in Hungary), comes this years-in-the-making tick-tock about the rise of Fidesz, the corrupt political party that launched Viktor Orban's political career. This one-hour news piece on YouTube is rooted in a textbook ethos of reporting: Follow the money.
Once Orban took office in 2010, his son-in-law and key pals started winning government contracts, based on bidding processes rigged in their favor. This was the culmination of financial shenanigans that dated back to the 1990s, when the party learned how to play the money game, in part by converting public funding for the party into private gain.
The son-in-law's path to wealth started innocuously enough with winning the bid for street lighting in cities around the country, quickly dominating the market as competitors suspiciously stepped aside, unable to meet the unique requirements -- all of this overseen by a corrupt auditor, of course. The son-in-law soon built a real estate empire of stunning proportions in just a few years, including prestige properties all over Budapest. (Is this all sounding familiar?)
Direkt36 digs through decades of dirty deals for this one-hour expose. The facts unfold fast and furious from the talking-head journalists. It is a breath-taking analysis of a blatant kleptocracy. One journalist describes the overt corruption as the ruling party creating an Infrastructure Procurement Department and a Dynasty Building Department, flimsy excuses to shovel money to Orban's family and pals.
The filmmakers do a good job of sorting through a ton of facts and keeping track of the journalists who serve as talking heads. Some viewers might be overwhelmed, whether it's the rapid fire of the screaming headlines or the onslaught of corruption that seems impossible to contain.
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