Absolutely Fantastic

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

American Gigolo's made in Hungary with some conscience. Grifters with a heart and a back-up plan. Con-men Gabor and Tibi (played by Ervin Nagy and Zsolt Trill) at night pose as janitors in offices, digging through bins to find marks to help them pin down lonely victims. Gabor plays the slick gentleman, backed by Tibi, marrying women for access to their bank accounts. This brings them easy money, but when Gabor starts to fall for a high-risk mark however, things begin to spiral out of control. Uncertain whether he is playing the beautiful dancer Hanna, or falling in love with her, he gets drawn into an increasing number of complex cons to keep their relationship up.Chameleon, unlike many of its con-film American equivalents has a certain depth. Developing characters with meticulous detail, the protagonists question their tendency towards deception, disguises and sense of achievements whilst it is also uncertain who is betraying whom.The third feature from Krisztina Goda, after Just Sex And Nothing Else and Children of Glory, Chameleon is 2009 official Hungarian entry for the Best Foreign Language film category of the Academy Awards. Andreja Kmetovic

Chameleon by Bev Questad, Feb. 25, 2010"We all had the same dream. Not women. Not Fame. Not a house. But cash… because that meant that you were someone."This is another Hideous Man Show – but this bad dude meets the seemingly angelic, beautiful, seductive, duplicitous Hideous Woman. Chameleon, the 2009 film submitted from Hungary for Oscar consideration, is worth seeing. Sure, there are contrivances and quite possibly the psychologist, played by László Áron, is a little too seedy. But this film is loaded with exceptional casting, acting, and psychological illumination.The Greek term for chameleon means ground lion. A chameleon adapts to its environment to avoid detection by its predators, slinking close to its base, changing colors to falsely blend in. Enter Gabor Farkas (Ervin Nagy), a seductive liar. Nagy has said about his role that his character didn't say one honest thing in the whole film. In the movie Farkas rationalizes, "Women believe what they want to. I don't trick them." Adapting, sneaking, creeping around the garbage of people's lives to strike them at their most vulnerable, flicking that hypnotic tongue, luring in the prey, Farkas is the ultimate trickster, the consummate disgusting liar, manipulating the unsuspecting with his charm and wit.Womanizers like Farkas struggle with low self-esteem and many, like our orphan protagonist, have had unstable or nonexistent relationships with father figures, especially in early childhood. This makes them feel unsure about their own self-worth, their basic identity and their own sense of power. Abandoned by his parents, Farkas grew up in an orphanage. He plays a version of the powerless male who maneuvers through "pretending" to blend in, in order to be accepted by a society which essentially rejected him in his formative years. With his focus on adaptation rather than introspection, he is lost, without a sense of his own distinct self. When asked, "Who are you?" Farkas side-steps with unintentional honesty, "That's a good question."Farkas (Nagy) has created so many identities, succeeding so well in so many roles, that he perhaps would think he deserves notice amongst the paintings of great actors at the New York City Players Club. However, unlike the best of actors, his psychopathic nature is incapable of guilt or empathizing. He is incapable of tears and, conversely, of feeling true joy. He is incapable of a true union with a woman or the society he is so busy trying to prove that he is better than. In an interview Ervin Nagy explains, "I don't think I have ever had a more challenging or complex role before. I was playing a different personality in almost every single moment. The main character is an underprivileged country lad with a hard life behind him who moves up to the capital and the only money-making option that he sees a future in is the scheme of deception. So ultimately, he becomes a con artist. We would like to see a realistic picture of his psyche they said to me" (Hungarian Filmweek.com).And Nagy does the job. His most brilliant scene is the first time he unwittingly falls prey to his own quarry – his affected seduction by an orthopedist (played with extraordinary depth by the singer/actor, Janos Kulka) results in a calculated closing insult beyond our chameleon's limited expectations. And the karma begins.The central plot involves Farkas (Nagy) becoming obsessed with seducing one woman, a Madonna-like ballerina named Hanna Hartay, played by the lovely Gabi Hamori. His original intent, like with all his other conquests, was to seduce her in order to tap into her financial assets. As soon as he got a pay-off he'd leave her and prowl for a new victim. However, the tables soon turn and she becomes the one who needs the money from him – as well as the one factor in Farkas' life with the power to transform or destroy him. The denouement of this film ironically involves a succession of remarkable karmic twists and convolutions. "Chameleon" labels the protagonist as well as a surprising group of others. Entertaining, insightful and surprising.

"People always believe what they had wished for. They let themselves fooled, in order to get what they want: the illusion that they can be somebody, that they are not alone, that there is a way out of this mess Illusion is expensive but it is worth it"The film is about a male Cinderella. An orphan wants to be somebody from nothing. He wants no women nor career, he wants money. "If you have money: you are somebody". At least thats what he thinks. He makes money from seducing lonely girls and taking their money. He is a real sociopath, master of deceit, a man with many faces. But who is he actually? Asks an old man from him. "Thats a very good question..." Eventually he falls in love with one of his victims, thats where the plot gets more and more complicated. He gets stuck more and more into his own web. I tell no more not to spoil it. It is not cliché, rather it is filled with twists and with depth. The words this comment begun are really filled with meaning. The viewer sympathizes and in the same time despises the protagonist. And after the end we ask the same question: Who are we? What are my disguises? What do I really want? Am I being fooled?Ervin Nagy's acting is just amazing. His expressions, his voice. Everything is in its place. The others are also all right. The music is suspenseful and smart. Not more not less than it is required for such a film. In case you are afraid that this might be a low quality eastern European product, this is not. This film is absolutely makes up for the world or American standards.Thank you!