Filmteam presents
featuring
a film by Károly Ujj Mészáros
track, trap, catch!
A policeman never rests while a criminal's on the loose!
So you didn't kill Márta Tanaka?
Károly Nyilas cut his own throat?
Mr Ludvig broke his own ribs?
You didn't kill the man in the library,
the chimneysweeper or Henrik Marosi either?
Answer me!
And Sergeant Zoltán?
Can you hear me?
I...
I'm...
...cursed.
I'm a...
...fox-fairy.
Stop, stop, this is stupid!
Let's go back to the beginning.
Once upon a time, there was an apartment block in the capital.
Liza woke up at 5 as usual.
She took out her shabby best dress,
the money she'd been saving for years,
and she started her morning duties.
Liza was sure she'd meet the love of her life that day
and she'd be happy.
She got this idea from a cheap Japanese novel
she'd read a thousand times.
"The crab burger had gone cold.
The girl lost herself in Oshima's eyes.
On her 30th birthday, she got the present of a lifetime:
love!
The scent of happiness filled the Mekk Burger restaurant. "
Liza used to work in a small-town sanatorium.
Old Márta, the widow of the Japanese ambassador,
hired Liza 12 years ago.
The paralyzed, asthmatic woman
taught Liza Japanese.
They listened to the songs of the Japanese singer, Tomy Tani...
Tomy Tani died years before,
and his ghost appeared in the flat six years ago.
Only Liza could see the amusing ghost.
Liza thought that he was her imaginary friend.
When in fact...
What a lovely birthday present!
Thank you.
What's the matter, my dear?
I just thought I'd dance for you.
Liza, The Fox-Fairy
That soup was delicious.
If we were in a fairy tale, you could have three wishes.
Three?
I'd only have one.
I didn't mean it literally.
Don't bother asking me for a pay rise.
I'd like to go out for two hours...
this afternoon...
if possible...
Two hours?
You've never left me alone for that long.
It's out of the question!
Don't cry, I can't stand tears!
Why do you want to go out?
Because it's my birthday today.
The 30th.
My God...
When I was 30...
All right then.
I hope there's a man involved.
You deserve some happiness.
Thank you.
I'm happy as I am.
What do you know about happiness?
I've seen you talking to yourself!
Go and make friends! That's an order!
And bring me some cake.
Is it really so ugly?
Sorry.
See you later.
A crab burger please.
Yeah right! And I'll have caviar!
Choose from the list!
Welcome to Mekk Burger!
Today's offer: one hamburger with a gift, only 2 forints!
Sideburn-Cola with a menu - only 1.50!
May I?
"The crab burger had gone cold. "
"The girl lost herself in Oshima's eyes.
On her 30th birthday, she got the present of a lifetime...
love!"
Move over, Feri!
Which cheeseburger's mine?
While Liza was seeking happiness in Mekk Burger,
the jealous Tomy Tani had devised a vicious plan.
And he started to put it into practice.
Here's the tea at last!
This wall has to be knocked out.
Edit, did you know that Aunty Márta had a gold tooth?
Really?
Didn't you knock that out, too?
You're so proud that you visited Márta a few times?
You get the family photos.
What's your name?
Liza.
Thank you.
Two sugars and a drop of milk.
Just how I like it. Thanks, Twiglet!
Liza, where are the savings books?
Look at that cheeky thing.
She doesn't even answer.
There are no savings books. She hardly got any wages.
We should check her suitcase before she leaves.
Tomy, where are you now?
Tomy Tani spent his free time with Liza.
He was rather busy with his other duties.
Thank you for taking your shoes off.
The lawyer. At last!
Let's take a look at that will.
My son hasn't eaten at all since his wife died.
He moved in with me but he won't eat my cooking.
Make him a dish from this recipe book...
and he'll fall in love with you. Guaranteed!
Okay, go now.
They're waiting for me at the salon.
Call him, my dear!
They've thrown you out?
That weird woman wants to fix me up with her idiot son.
I'd cook pork with chocolate pudding for Marlon Brando...
But for Károly?
Who's Marlon Bardon?
Twiglet! You're still here!
Nice to meet you. Henrik Marosi.
I often came to visit my aunt. How come we never met?
It's a mystery.
We should look into it.
Call me and we'll do that.
Do you want one, too?
You need to come back, Twiglet.
The old girls are very upset.
Police headquarters
That nurse murdered our sister
to get her flat!
We hardly got a thing! That bitch inherited the lot!
There was a savings book with the lawyer.
1,000 forints.
People have been murdered for less.
Why are you messing with that notice board in the nude?
Sergeant Zoltán has just come up from the provinces.
He'll take care of you.
I told you to find a room to rent!
Come here and record the ladies' complaint.
Thank you for letting us know.
There's no smoke without... erm... thingy...
...you know...
...fucking hell!
In her final will, Márta Tanaka encouraged Liza
to grab every opportunity to meet a man
in order to find her mate, like she'd found Mr Tanaka.
"Her life became like cherry blossom - eternal spring.
The scent of happiness filled the Mekk Burger restaurant. "
You're right. Inge's got a phone.
Recipes
"Make him a dish out of this recipe book...
My son will fall in love with you. Guaranteed!"
Which one should I cook?
They all sound horrible.
Carp with maple syrup. Heavens!
Could that be his favourite?
Something smells delicious!
I was just cooking...
by accident, really...
for two...
But I'm not hungry!
Melon soup with dill!
Good evening.
Very pretty.
Take your shoes off, please.
Melon soup with spring onion.
Just like it should be.
I'm coming in.
I haven't eaten such delicious food for two years.
Since my wife died.
- I'm very sorry. - So am I.
I've been starving ever since.
Mushroom stew with jam!
Oh, Lord!
That was my Malvin's favourite.
And pork with chocolate pudding.
- That's my dear Malvin. - Oh!
We had a lovely life together.
We ate all day at home.
She wanted kids, but I didn't.
She died because her stomach split.
That liver with mint was perfect!
Malvin always served it with sugar.
Do you mind if I call you Malvin?
Malvin,
do you believe that fate gives everyone a partner?
When I tasted your soup,
I knew you were my new Malvin.
Are you happy?
I'd love a cup of tea...
Two sugars and a drop of milk?
I prefer tea with pickle vinegar, Malvin!
Carp in maple syrup! Oh, my God!
Malvin, do you know why I eat odd food?
Lt would be nice to know.
Károly!!!
Great little tracheotomy!
A pity it was too late.
A fish bone?
There was nothing in the cookbook about filleting the fish.
Where did you call the ambulance from?
From the street...
Take him!
Calm yourself, miss. These are routine questions.
But there's no smoke without...
...fucking hell!
Liza spent all her money on Károly's dinner.
She couldn't find a job.
She decided to rent out Márta's empty room.
I should get a phone!
What have you been doing?
Are you sure Mr Tanaka's old phone's up here?
Got it!
What's that?
"Fox-fairies.
An exhibition from the Nara Kitsune Museum. "
Beautiful!
There's a picture missing.
"Sungachi was the best-known fox-fairy.
She won the heart of Shogun Katzuyama,
then she stole his soul. "
It's a fairy tale!
"For many centuries, fox-fairies...
...were believed to be cursed demons.
If a man desired a fox-fairy,
he had to die.
Fox-fairies were doomed to live alone in the forests of Nasu.
They usually put an end to their own pathetic lives. "
Poor fox-fairies!
They must have been unhappy,
and infinitely lonely.
Sergeant Zoltán, a rare fan of Finnish Western music,
threw himself into investigating Károly's death.
What's this party?
You wrote in your report...
...that Liza cut his throat then called an ambulance from the street.
She hid her phone and said she'd cut his throat
to save his life because she couldn't phone from home.
But she has a telephone line.
So why didn't she call from home?
That is suspicious.
You know what? Keep an eye on her.
You want to be a detective, don't you?
Have you found a room yet?
I've brought this back.
Everyone cut themselves with it in the lab.
Mainly me.
Come in.
I was baking bread because I'm short of money...
But you're not short of phones.
It's new... I mean old.
I found it in the cupboard.
We would've found it there.
Is this your ad?
This is the room...
Is this where the old lady died?
Stop! Don't move!
Look!
I'll take care of it.
You almost trod on it.
Lt lives outside and climbs in sometimes.
You have to be careful, if you move in.
If you like what you see...
I like it a lot.
The room, I mean.
Henrik? This is Liza.
I've found a tenant and...
I need an extra key.
Could you lend me yours?
I haven't got money for a new one and...
He's a bit strange.
A policeman...
...but a nice one.
Yes, yes.
The tank doesn't work.
Flush it with a bucket!
A bucket!
Yes, and he has no idea
how many things are broken.
The shutters, the gas boiler, the light switch...
No, Henrik, I can't accept money.
Yes, I said "no".
No, it wasn't the first time I've said "no".
Okay, let's meet.
Fish restaurant?
No, Henrik, I'll never eat fish again!
Let's go to Mekk Burger. Okay?
Okay. Four o'clock.
No.
Yes.
Bye.
No...
Oh!
Here's my key.
I'll get another one tomorrow.
The key ring's a bit girlie...
I'll show you where to fill the bucket.
Sleeping pills
Could you please not play loud music in the morning?
I could...
They say they grill the meat on a flame.
But the meat is tasteless. The smoky flavour is in the sauce.
Artificial flavoring, flavour intensifier, antioxidants,
and you get the illusion of a family barbecue in Mekk Burger.
Delicious! Full of fat and sugar!
I read that their french fries contained the most cholesterol.
They were fried in beef fat.
That's their biggest weapon.
You get a piece of plastic shit.
Kids put it in their bedroom like an idol.
They'll never forget where they were the happiest:
at the cinema and at Mekk Burger.
You see, Twiglet?
No, I never go to the cinema.
Do you know what I like about you?
No.
That you're like an alien.
I'm not an alien.
I'm popping out for a sec. Do you mind?
No...
...but let's not forget the key.
Hello, kids! Today's free gift is a plastic clown!
Pretty flowers for a pretty girl.
Sándor, I knew right away that you were a gentleman.
I never answer advertisements.
But when I read yours,
something moved inside me.
Your advertisement was so...
..."intimate".
I'm...
I am intimate.
An "intimate" man.
And you are...
so...
so beautiful?
Welcome to Mekk Burger!
Hello, a Cosmopolitan, please.
I'd like to place an advertisement.
What kind of ad?
An intimate one.
To find an intimate partner...
"My Dear Daughter,
Forgive me for leaving you, my sweetest baby.
Promise me, that you won't be irresponsible with men
so your child won't have to grow up as an orphan.
Like you did.
Your mother. "
"The scent of happiness filled the Mekk Burger restaurant. "
"French kiss. " No.
"Wild cat looking for her tiger... " No.
"Chubby couple... " No.
"Simple nurse who enjoys traditional cooking
seeks nice man for companionship.
I don't cook fish!
Reply to: I'm an alien!"
Oh, Feri, the door's stuck.
Mr Ludvig. Come out of there!
In the cupboard again?
Sorry... my blood pressure.
- He was hiding in the accounts department yesterday. - Idiot!
"How to seduce the man of your dreams.
Ten steps to success.
Step 1. Pay attention to your appearance.
A hungry cat won't chase a dull mouse. "
Need to boost your confidence?
Want to seduce your dream prince?
You want the Luxury Diamond Collection!
Order now and we'll send you these earrings for free!
Call our number: 488-488. Andiamo!
"Dear Miss Alien, I read your ad. I'd like to meet you for a date.
Yours, Ludvig. "
"Step 2.
Practice on guys you're not that interested in.
When your knight appears, you'll be irresistibly sexy. "
Take a look at today's super dessert menu!
Mekk cakes, Mekk shakes and Mekk ice creams!
Mr Ludvig!
Good afternoon.
Miss Alien?
How pretty!
You are...
...very pretty, too.
Do you often
place "intimate" ads in papers?
Only if it's necessary.
How much will this cost?
You could buy me a coffee.
Coffee?
I could pay cash...
You said in the ad:
"I don't cook fish. "
What did you mean exactly?
I had a bad experience.
Mr Ludvig.
You wouldn't stick pickles in donuts, would you?
No.
What do you mean?
I only want simple things.
Do you have...
...cupboards at your place?
"Step 3.
A little alcohol does no harm.
A tipsy guy will show you what he's really like. "
This is old Japanese sake.
Is it alcoholic?
Let's drink a toast.
I'm not sure.
Just a drop.
Cheers, Ludvig!
Cheers, Liza!
Drink up!
"Step 4.
Dance with him!
You can learn a lot from a sexy dance. "
I've never been with a woman before.
I'm a virgin.
It's "The Ripper" again.
What's that?
Nothing concrete?
The Japanese-mad nurse...
Three weeks, three corpses.
Mr Ludvig had a heart attack
from the coffee and alcohol he took with his pills.
She tried to rescue him and broke all his ribs.
The report...
I've read your report.
The old lady's relatives gave us nothing concrete.
- She was after her money! - She wanted to kill her!
That flat should be ours!
You got nothing from the mother of the second victim.
You went to the last victim's workplace...
They found him in the meter cupboard once.
He's haunting the accounts department.
Lt all began in the ladies' toilets.
Still nothing.
Then you fixed a broken window blind...
and saw that the nurse had mended your sock.
You can lead a horse to water but...
...you know...
...fucking hell!
This investigation is bullshit!
You found one clue: her telephone.
I'll ask for a list of her calls.
If she used her phone on the day of the dinner,
you'll arrest her, Sergeant! Okay?
Nasu - Japan
Can I help you?
My parents had an accident here in the forest.
I don't know what to do.
Show me the way.
Tomy!
Thank heavens you're here!
I had a terrible dream!
I'm scared that
I've turned into a fox-fairy!
Believe me!
Károly and Mr Ludvig both died...
and I see...
foxes everywhere...
I have to find out more about fox-fairies.
Will you come with me?
Demons from the far east
Miss!
Miss! Miss!
Miss!
Tomy, where are you?
Why did you leave me alone?
You're in danger. You should leave.
Go away!
If you need something to chew on,
I recommend one of these...
They're fluffy...
Listen to me.
I'm not a man of words.
But it looks like you're in trouble.
Calm down.
I'm saying this because people see things just one way.
That's especially true when they're in trouble.
Come with me.
Look at that picture.
Lt shows a woman's head.
But if I turn it...
Lt shows a lion.
But whatever angle I look at you from,
you look the same:
innocent.
Innocent?
Everybody dies around me!
I look at them and they drop dead.
Like in that museum brochure.
In what?
Fox-fairies.
All men who fall in love with them die.
They live alone in the forests of Nasu.
They end their own pathetic lives.
And you believe in that curse?
Yes.
You're lucky you didn't fall in love with me,
or you'd be dead by now.
I see.
Do you know this picture?
It's always been here.
Why didn't they take it?
Was it cut out from here?
There's a piece missing.
Exactly.
Read it.
"Sungachi was more fortunate than the other fox-fairies.
The shogun's servant, Tanae, felt a selfless love for her.
When Sungachi learned that a servant
would sacrifice his life for her,
the curse was broken.
The curse can be broken by someone
who loves a fox-fairy with a pure and selfless love.
Sungachi lived happily with Tanae, in the forest. "
So my curse can be broken?
I have to find someone who loves me with selfless love?
It might be a good idea.
It's just a Japanese tale from a brochure.
Thank you.
Where are you taking the millipede?
I've got to go.
Tonight? We could have a drink?
No, sorry.
I'll be with my boyfriend.
You know.
And now for the latest sports news...
Sorry.
You're very cheeky.
I don't see you for weeks and now you show up
and you expect me to lick your hands like a puppy.
Thanks for the flowers.
Coming, honey!
Inge!
At least let me go to the loo.
"Listen, Z. I'm fed up with you and your pathetic clues!
You should sleep with them! Feri will take me to America.
They've got real cowboys. Bye, Timi. "
I know it's you!
I've caught you!
You?
Henrik, was it you?
I just dropped in...
To fix the toilet.
What?
So you're my secret handyman?
- I thought... - You look beautiful.
No one can see me like this. Lt would be dangerous.
You look dangerous!
You must have fixed the hot water
and the light switch.
You've broken my curse
and brought me flowers.
Let's go out somewhere.
That sounds great.
Henrik. Promise me something.
You won't die, will you?
I wouldn't survive that.
Today is my birthday.
Let's celebrate.
Good morning.
You haven't heard about the Répcelaky case?
The Suhajda scandal?
The property scam on Fiastyik Street?
Incredible! What fabulous innocence!
Hi!
Hi, honey, long time no see!
A gin and tonic, and another drink for us.
"Need to boost your confidence?"
"Want to seduce your dream prince?"
It's cheap crap! I did the marketing.
Thanks for the drink.
Give my regards to your madly jealous husband.
He's in Helsinki right now with his ice-hockey team.
Don't listen to her. I like it.
- Was she your girlfriend, too? - Not really. Just a flirt.
Like the girl at Mekk Burger?
Kind of.
But that's in the past.
And now...
I'm not going to die.
It was a joke.
A little music?
On the road to capitalism...
Let's dance.
Henrik. Let's have a tea.
We've had enough. Come on.
Henrik. Not like this.
You're right. Sorry, Twiglet.
There's no point like this.
I'd better go.
No, Henrik. You can't go.
You protected me from the relatives after the funeral.
You only took a few photos but you could've taken more.
You secretly sneaked in to fix those broken things,
because you knew I had no money.
I know that you left me in Mekk Burger
so that I couldn't borrow your key.
Henrik, you're a good man.
You just have to keep on loving me selflessly.
Then you'll stay alive and we'll be happy together...
even if I am a fox-fairy or an alien.
You've broken my curse.
You've lost yourself in my eyes
and the cherry blossom is here!
It's not a flirt, it's eternal spring.
Love me nicely...
tenderly...
I can't be irresponsible with men...
Hi.
Can I come over?
I'll be there in 20 minutes.
"Cherry blossom for aliens. "
Henrik!
Hello...
Hello, Liza?
I left my key at your place Can I get it?
Daddy has to go now.
Count the red cars until I come back...
Okay?
One...
Happy birthday!
Just a minute!
25...
So you didn't kill Márta Tanaka?
Károly Nyilas cut his own throat?
Mr Ludvig broke his own ribs?
Hilda!
You didn't kill the man in the library, the chimneysweep
and Henrik Marosi either?
Answer me!
And Sergeant Zoltán?
Can you hear me?
I...
I'm...
I'm cursed.
I'm...
...a fox-fairy.
Lieutenant!
Switch that bloody coffee machine off!
You're alive?
Half an hour and she'll confess. Watch and learn.
She didn't kill them.
What?
I found the killer's fingerprints on the stairs.
Lt needs to be checked in the database.
Her list of calls.
She didn't use it when she cut that man's throat.
She hadn't made a phone call for weeks.
She's innocent.
I'm taking her home.
Do you fancy some peanuts
or crisps?
I'd rather have
a Mekk burger... with a gift.
I don't want to leave you alone.
Please go.
I'll be fine.
"The crab burger had gone cold.
The girl lost herself in Oshima's eyes.
On her 30th birthday, she got the present of a lifetime:
love!
Her life became like cherry blossom...
...eternal spring.
The scent of happiness filled the Mekk Burger restaurant. "
Thanks for coming.
I want to be with you.
We're in your favourite place.
We've broken the curse.
I felt so bad when I woke up and you weren't there.
Then I found your note...
Note?
The note you left by the door.
"Cherry blossom for aliens. "
Of course.
Is it me?
The alien, of course, Twiglet.
No, this woman...
What woman?
Did you draw this?
Of course.
Did you fix the sink?
Of course.
What's wrong, Liza?
There was nothing wrong with the sink.
You have to stay!
Let me go! Someone's waiting for me!
Liza!
I've waited for this for so long.
Stay with me forever!
You can talk?
Who are you?
Liza.
You know,
I take people over to the afterlife.
When I came to collect old Márta six years ago...
I saw you,
I appeared to you.
I was so happy.
Are you Death?
It's my job!
I thought we were friends.
I love you!
Suicide was the only way
you could join me
so we could be together
...for all eternity!
Look!
I've brought you cherry blossom...
Eternal spring!
I'll make your dreams come true.
You killed everyone...
...I tried to love.
They weren't good enough for you!
Do you prefer me like this?
Please, let me go!
Let me go back to him!
If you leave,
you'll condemn the sergeant to eternal suffering!
I'll follow him everywhere
and turn his life into hell!
If I stay?
He'll be spared.
I promise!
I'll stay.
I'll stay with you...
...forever!
Good morning.
Are you...
dead, too?
No.
I think we're alive.
I'll call an ambulance.
Make that two.
Oops!
Eventually... the last piece of the Japanese fairytale puzzle.
It says that a true lover is not enough to break the curse.
The cursed fox-fairy must also prove that her love is pure and unselfish.
You'd make a great detective.
But you want to go back to the provinces?
It's because of that girl?
Love is like...
...you know...
- Fucking hell? - No!
Like a dark dungeon.
That woman's more dangerous than Ebola!
Is she better?
A little.
She needs more time to recover. A long time.
We've got time.
Plenty of time.
Stop, stop, stop!
This is stupid! We've not finished!
More than ten years have passed.
We can safely say that Liza found in Sergeant Zoltán
the mate she was looking for.
They saved hard for 10 years and took their daughter to Japan.
The trip was Liza's greatest dream.
Zoltán still has accidents.
When he rushes from hospital into Liza's arms,
they both laugh.
Zoltán pretends he doesn't notice that Liza's crying because she's happy.
It seems that whatever cross you bear,
you have a chance to find...
you know...
...your mate.
If they save enough, they'll go to Finland in 10 years
because Zoltán's dream comes next.
And they all lived happily,
until they died...