— by Jeff Schultz
One of the best things about film festivals is the chance to see vibrant, accomplished work from countries whose movies seldom make it to America. That certainly applies to Eastern Europe and to this Hungarian romp. The premise comes from Japanese Kitsune folkore: a sweet young nurse is transformed into a “fox fairy” by the jealous ghost of a pop singer (don’t ask, but he’s hilarious) — making her lethal to every man who wants to have sex with her. One chokes on food, another falls off a roof, another is hit by a bus, another is stabbed to death. The only thing that can break the spell is the selfless love of a man, who must die himself in order to redeem her. But this being a comic fairy tale, it ends with delight, not tragedy — as Liza’s redeemer somehow survives accident after accident, with mounting scars that are one of the movie’s best visual jokes. (The opening credits are also a treat.) This was a real crowd pleaser in Tromsø and has been shown at festivals in Austin, Seattle and Denver. It would be a shame if it wasn’t picked up by an American distributor.