Hungary’s ‘You or Me’ Offers a Breezy Story of Love’s Twists

Tamas Sas’ “You or Me” is a sweet-natured comedy-romance from Hungary about two young guys making their way in the world of music and broadcasting and who, in time-honored fashion, fall in love with the same girl. The film has a nice, easy-to-take quality and is an entirely pleasant diversion, and its three leads have a lot of star presence. However, the music, which is a major ingredient, sounds awfully square by American standards--but then, for all its youthful spirit, the film itself is a decidedly traditional item.

Max (Attila Kiraly), a handsome twentysomething, and his pal Pipi (Viktor Bodo)--he’s the one with the ponytail, glasses and colorful wardrobe--share Max’s late grandmother’s apartment in a crumbling but elegant Belle Epoque apartment house. The friends have a pirate radio station and have had lots of fun evading authorities. But the entire enterprise is beginning to wear thin for them.

Turned down for a license--despite some costly greasing of palms--they audition for a commercial radio DJ job. Like all the other applicants, Max, who has a night job as a drummer in a club band, stumbles on reading an announcement about how Tarzan’s old sidekick Cheetah is celebrating her 59th birthday in Palm Springs. Pipi, however, improvises amusingly and lands the spot, swiftly becoming something of a celebrity. In the meantime a beautiful young classical flutist, Marta (Gabi Gubas), just back from Vienna and ending a bad marriage, moves in the apartment opposite them.

“You or Me” is the familiar story of how youthful friendship is put to the test when one friend suddenly advances professionally way ahead of the other and how a lovely woman can further complicate matters. Along with good looks, the film’s three principal actors have considerable personality and talent. “You or Me” is breezy and inconsequential, but Sas has a graceful style and an unpretentious manner that add up to just the right touch for the picture.

* Unrated. Times guidelines: brief nudity, a scene of drug-taking.

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‘You or Me’

(Kalozok)

Gabi Gubas: Marta

Attila Kiraly: Max

Viktor Bodo: Pipi

A Bunyik Entertainment release of an Axia Plus production. Cinematographer-director Tamas Sas. Producer Gyorgy Budai. Screenplay by Istvan Nemes and Peter Geszti. Editor Zsuzsa Posan. Music Laszlo Des. In Magyar, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour, 36 minutes.

Exclusively at the Music Hall, 9036 Wilushire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 274-6869.