Great Film overall

Awesome Movie

An absolute waste of money

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This is a fantastic piece of filmmaking. Benjamin Meade has taken something as mundane as the home movie and created a stunning work. What is fascinating is that there is so much in this quasi- documentary that is shown. We follow a family, but like all families they have their history and live in a world that has history. They are their own world, and part of the world around them.The narration- comments that occur durring the film remind us of that. The family has their life, but part of that life is in the world in which they live.Then, we seek the family today. We wonder what happened to that family that we watched and became interested. This is where we literally jump into the screen. The director meets the son depicted in the home movies. We see what has happened to the son, raising questions about the rest of the family. We seek the daughter. This is where the director Meade shows what kind of film this is. Instead of being a dispassioned reporter, he has involved himself in this family. When there are questions about the wellbeing of the sister, the director involves himself, and the audience via the camera, in finding the answer.Does he take things too far? That is what each of us have to answer of ourselves. I guess it all depends on whether you can be compassionate with a camera in your hands. But, the audience should be greatful that they were taken on the journey.It also raises another interesting question. While much of the film takes place in Hungary, there is nothing that says that it could not happen in New York, or California, or Kansas. What do our home movies tell about us. What have we done since we were children? Are there hints in anyone's childhood that says where they are going?See the film, make your own judgements.

The found films that serves as the basis for Vakvagany are fascinating, and the commentary by special guests James Ellroy, Stan Brakhage, and Roy Menninger at times is thought-provoking, but filmmaker Benjamin Meade crosses a dangerous line with this film in the final reel, as he literally breaks into someone's home in order to film them. Perhaps that would have been justified if the subject were a secluded war criminal. Unfortunately, Meade's victim is a slightly disturbed though quite coherent middle aged woman who is thoroughly aware of the pornographic intentions of the director's camera. In an afterthought segment aired after the film on the Sundance Channel, Meade admits that he went too far. Self awareness is important, but it came too late to save an otherwise fascinating piece of work, making Nick Broomfield look like Miss Manners in comparison.

This is a film that deserves much more attention then it will probably ever receive. "Vakvagany" is at different times disturbing, thought-provoking, and hilarious. It is a documentary done by a relatively unknown director, and yet it is not only as good as any documentary film you will ever see, but to its great credit, it is also probably as accessible to a mainstream audience as a film like this could be. Hopefully the inclusion in the film of the renowned author and personality James Ellroy (at his wry best) will create an audience for the film; it has a timelessness about it that should allow it to sustain its relevance and impact over time. Three different perspectives about a series of remarkable old "home movies" that were discovered in a decrepit apartment in Hungary are provided by a filmmaker, a psychologist, and an author. Their vastly contrasting input provides the perfect framework for the astonishing footage that is the foundation of this film. The decision by the director Benjamin Meade to splice the comments of a panel of interviewees with disparate perspectives about a central subject reminded me of Errol Morris's great film "Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control."

The dark heart of Benjamin Meade's "Vakvagany" consists of creepy home movies, filmed sometime between 1948 and 1964, purportedly stolen from a filthy house in Hungary that was said to be crawling with cats."Vakvagany" zig-zags through time, sampling the stolen family films, juxtaposing them with newly-filmed footage of the old movies' still-living participants, and interviews with three spirit guides who offer their take on lurid life with the family depicted in the old and new footage: crime novelist James Ellroy (of "L.A. Confidential" fame) , psychiatrist Dr. Roy Menninger and filmmaker Stan Brakhage.The vintage films focus on life with the Locsei family, a Hungarian couple fond of filming one another and their eventual, ill-fated offspring.The setting for the `found' film is demolished, post-World War II Europe (much of the footage depicts damage done to cities during the war).The usual family moments are captured in the old family films, such as giving the new baby in the house a bath.But the camera lingers lasciviously long on naked son Erno, a cause for concern for `expert witness,' Dr. Roy Menninger, who seems increasingly to be wincing as the film (and the old family footage) unfolds. There are moments in Vakvagany - old and new - that are apt to make virtually any viewer, even the most jaded, wince, as well.Benjamin Meade's "Vakvagany" (or, variously, "Dead End") is eighty-plus minutes of very strange cinema. Love it or hate it, it is something new, and it feels dangerous and important.Meade has said he became enthralled with the vintage home movies and their potentially sinister subject matter: in particular, father Locsei's never clearly defined role in allegedly `helping' the European Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. The form this `help' takes is sufficiently vague to leave room for some very dark deductions regarding what exactly Papa Locsei does for a living that could be construed as `help' for potential Nazi victims.Director Benjamin Meade lets the viewer, and his three `experts,' attempt to decide (You know you're along for a strange, strange ride when noir novelist James Ellroy, notorious for his wild stage presence and book readings, tends toward the most mundane explanations for some very, very strange behavior.)The Alloy Orchestra, famed for its wonderful scores for vintage silent films, provides a haunting, beautiful soundtrack for "Vakvagany."While a sometimes disturbing view, Meade's film is a rewarding ride that can't be forgotten.