Country Hungary

Hey, You (1976)

Hey, You is a feast for the eyes. Péter Szoboszlay's Hungarian short is one of those pieces where you could pause on almost any frame and happily hang it on the wall, and while it is not fine-art realism, for its time and its means it is fantastic. A vibrant, folkloric little marvel, and an easy three and a half stars.

The art style put me somewhere between an old painting and a Ralph Bakshi film, that same hand-drawn, slightly rough-edged energy, and the colours are absolutely striking throughout. It has the quality of playing cards coming to life, every image bold, flat and richly patterned. It is the sort of animation that reminds you how much character this kind of craft has that slicker, computer-smoothed work often loses.

The story is a folkloric one, a man doing battle with demons and monsters for the sake of a princess, and it rattles along with real verve. The music is a huge part of why it works, perfectly matched to the action and giving the whole thing a propulsive, almost theatrical rhythm. It never outstays its welcome, and it carries you along on colour and momentum even when the narrative is doing something fairly simple.

Three and a half stars. Hey, You is a gorgeous, spirited piece of hand-drawn animation, bursting with colour and life. As a showcase of what Eastern European animators could conjure with paint, patience and imagination, it is a real treat.

Reviewed as part of the Samizdat Eastern European Film Festival's Politics of the Imagination programme.

Related on Movies With Macca

More from Country Hungary: The Tragedy of Man (2011), Underground (1995), The Next Guardian (2017)

More from the 1970s: The Driver (1978), Star Wars (1977), The Godfather (1972)

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Hey, You (1976)

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American Beauty (1999)

The Spiral Staircase (1946)

The Babadook (2014)

The Peanuts Movie (2015)

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