Discovering Hungarian Cinema: A Journey Through Time And Emotion

Clara Moreau
Clara MoreauOctober 20, 2025
Hungarian cinema has a rich history of producing films that are both thought-provoking and visually stunning. From the dramatic landscapes of the countryside to the bustling streets of Budapest, Hungarian movies often explore complex themes and emotions that resonate deeply with audiences.

One of the standout aspects of Hungarian cinema is its ability to balance light-hearted comedy with profound drama, often blending genres in innovative and unexpected ways. This is evident in films like The Witness, which uses humor to explore the human condition, and The Fifth Seal, which poses difficult moral questions to its characters.

Hungarian films also frequently explore the country's complex history, from the tumultuous events of World War II to the struggles of everyday life under communist rule. Movies like The Round-Up and Son of Saul offer powerful and unflinching portrayals of these periods, while films like Werckmeister Harmonies and The Turin Horse use allegory and symbolism to comment on the human condition.

In recent years, Hungarian cinema has continued to evolve and thrive, with films like On Body and Soul and Kills on Wheels gaining international recognition and acclaim. These movies showcase the diversity and creativity of Hungarian filmmakers, who are unafraid to push boundaries and challenge their audiences. Whether you're interested in history, drama, comedy, or something else entirely, there's a Hungarian film out there for you.
The Witness
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The Witness

#1

Hungary, 1950s. József Pelikán, who works as a dam keeper on the Danube, meets by chance Zoltán Dániel, an old friend whom he saved from death years before and who is now a powerful politician.

1979108 min
Comedy
8.1
60 votes
The Fifth Seal
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The Fifth Seal

#2

In 1944 Budapest, one of a group of four friends poses a hypothetical moral question to the others, an act that will unexpectedly alter their lives forever.

1976107 min
DramaWar
8.1
85 votes
Werckmeister Harmonies
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Werckmeister Harmonies

#3

A naive young man witnesses an escalation of violence in his small hometown following the arrival of a mysterious circus attraction.

2001139 min
Drama
7.9
350 votes
Damnation
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Damnation

#4

Karrer plods his way through life in quiet desperation. His environment is drab and rainy and muddy. Eaten up with solitude, his hopelessness would be incurable but for the existence of the Titanik Bar and its beautiful, haunting singer. But the lady is married and Karrer is determined to keep her husband away...

1988116 min
DramaCrime
7.6
130 votes
Son of the White Mare
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Son of the White Mare

#5

A horse goddess gives birth to three powerful brothers who set out into the Underworld to save three princesses from three evil dragons and reclaim their ancestors' lost kingdom.

198186 min
AdventureAnimationFantasy
7.6
87 votes
The Turin Horse
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The Turin Horse

#6

A monumental windstorm and an abused horse's refusal to work or eat signal the beginning of the end for a poor farmer and his daughter.

2011155 min
Drama
7.6
384 votes
The Little Fox
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The Little Fox

#7

A tale about a little fox Vuk from the novel of the famous Hungarian writer István Fekete.

198174 min
AnimationFamily
7.6
70 votes
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
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Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen

#8

A film where anything can happen - the hero and the heroine changes their faces, age, look, names, and so on. The only same thing: The love between man and woman... in an archetypical love story cut from 500 classics from all around the world.

201284 min
DramaRomance
7.6
77 votes
On Body and Soul
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On Body and Soul

#9

Two introverted people find out by pure chance that they share the same dream every night. They are puzzled, incredulous, a bit frightened. As they hesitantly accept this strange coincidence, they try to recreate in broad daylight what happens in their dream.

2017116 min
DramaRomanceFantasy
7.3
576 votes
Valan: Valley of Angels
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Valan: Valley of Angels

#10

Peter returns to his Transilvanian hometown, Valan, where a dead body was found in the snow-capped mountains. The investigation about his 22 years missing sister leads him to the maze of grave sins of present and the past, where he has to fight not only with local criminals but his own demons too.

201997 min
CrimeDrama
7.2
77 votes
The Round-Up
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The Round-Up

#11

After the failure of the Kossuth's revolution of 1848, people suspected of supporting the revolution are sent to prison camps. Years later, partisans led by outlaw Sándor Rózsa still run rampant. Although the authorities do not know the identities of the partisans, they round up suspects and try to root them out by any means necessary.

196690 min
DramaHistoryWar
7.2
68 votes
Kills on Wheels
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Kills on Wheels

#12

Two physically handicapped youngsters make friends with a paralysed hitman and are commissioned by a local mafia boss. They have little to lose although things are never as they first appear. The boundaries between fantasy and reality blur as the unlikely heroes stumble from one close encounter to the next and we gain an unusual insight into their lives on the periphery of society.

2016105 min
ActionDramaComedy
7.1
54 votes
Son of Saul
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Son of Saul

#13

In the horror of 1944 Auschwitz, a prisoner forced to burn the corpses of his own people finds moral survival trying to save from the flames the body of a boy he takes for his son, seeking to give him a proper jewish burial.

2015107 min
WarDramaThriller
7.1
1115 votes

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