directed by Károly Ujj-Mészáros, romantic musical comedy, 98 min, eng subtitles
written by Bálint Hegedűs, Károly Ujj-Mészáros
with Mónika Balsai, Szabolcs Bede-Fazekas, David Sakurai, Piroska Molnár, Zoltán Schmied
This playful, genre-bending black comedy takes place in a fictionalised 1970s Hungary with a capitalist system, and follows Liza, a bright young nurse, who takes care of the widow of the former Japanese ambassador. She loves all things Japanese and she even has an imaginary friend - Tony Tani, a Japanese Frank Sinatra type - who often appears to Liza, dancing and singing for her. However, there’s one thing that’s bringing Liza down, and it’s her bad luck with men. When she begins seeing an evil shape-shifting Japanese spirit known as a fox-fairy, a demon known to suck the souls out of men, she thinks maybe her bad luck might have something to do with it. Could Liza be a fox-fairy herself?
Blending Japanese folklore with Amélie-inspired artistic direction, this dark fairytale delivers touches of whimsy and a large helping of Hungarian intensity and humor. A peculiar and poignant comedy, Liza, The Fox-Fairy is a fairy tale for grown-ups, tinged with irony.
Awards
Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival 2015 (Silver Mélies Award)
Brussels BIFFF 2015 (7th Orbit Award, Pegasus Audience Award)
Novi Sad Cinema City 2015 (Cineuropa Prize)
Porto Alegre Fantaspoa 2015 (Best Actress: Móni Balsai)
Porto FANTASPORTO 2015 (Fantasporto Grand Prix, Best Visual Effects Prize)
Seattle International Film Festival 2015 (Grand Jury Prize)