Colossal Sensation

FROM THE LINER NOTES

Colossal Sensation, from veteran Hungarian filmmaker Robert Koltai (May Day Mayhem), a master of political and social farce, is a blend of comedy and pathos, balancing the tumultuous lives of twin circus clowns against watershed moments in 20th century Hungarian history. Born and raised in a gypsy circus somewhere in the backwaters of Eastern Europe, twin brothers and clowns Naphthalene and Dodo fall afoul of the local Communist Party when a joke goes awry. "Older" brother Dodo takes the fall for his hapless brother and lands in the gulag for the offense. Meanwhile, Naphthalene becomes a prop man for a rural theater and involuntarily sets in motion events that lead to the 1956 Budapest revolution. Amid the chaos, Naphthalene sets out to free his brother from prison, with an attractive young hitchhiker along for the ride. Playing the witless Naphthalene, director Koltai heads a strong cast that also includes Oscar®-winning Czech director Jiri Menzel (Closely Watched Trains) as a theater impresario. (Hungarian with English subtitles)