The Lord's Lantern in Budapest (1999): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1999, The Lord's Lantern in Budapest is a comedy and drama film directed by Miklós Jancsó, running about 103 minutes. “Ha én állat lennék, nem tartanék embert a lakásban...” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. In the Kerepesi Street cemetery, three grave diggers contemplate the fate of the world, then they step out of this role and in a sequence of episodes they play the typical figures of contemporary Hungarian reality, the fat cat, the swashbuckler, the victim, underworld chieftains, and present little absurd dramas of love, marriage, friendship, public order and legal safety. The author and the film director walk among them all the time, contemplating, laughing at their plays. The stories starting from the graveyard and returning there warn of the inevitability of death. The author and the director (Gyula Hernádi and Miklós Jancsó) wisely make friends with death.

Who’s in it. The Lord's Lantern in Budapest stars Zoltán Mucsi as Kapa, Péter Scherer as Pepe, József Szarvas as Józsi and Miklós Jancsó as Himself, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.1/10, The Lord's Lantern in Budapest has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Lord's Lantern in Budapest page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Lord's Lantern in Budapest tend to enjoy Forrest Gump, Parasite, Life Is Beautiful and Fight Club.