The film was originally planned to be finished by 2008, Hungary's Renaissance Year marking the 550th anniversary of the crowning of King Matthias, but it took producer József Berger at least three years to find the money to make it.
"You can only make a film if you have the chance," said Jancsó.
The film cost HUF 480 million to make.
So Much For Justice alludes to the notion that King Matthias was not the just and benevolent ruler portrayed in folk traditions and tales. Centuries ago, after Hungary was split into different parts, there was a need for a national hero to cling to, and in the Romantic period King Matthias was that person, Jancsó said. But this created image was bore little resemblance to the real Matthias, he added.
"Although my original plans were to make a film about King Matthias, nothing came of it in the end. I put the question to myself: 'Should I show the only significant ruler in the country's history in a critical light?' I couldn't do it because such a film costs a terrible amount of money. So a film was made that is about Matthias, but not really. Names in the film refer to him, for example Pál Kinizsi, but there is not one word about Matthias," Jancsó said.
Jancsó intentionally put Kinizsi - played by György Cserhalmi - into the film because he was the creation of King Matthias, yet also one of the first to betray him after his death.
"It's not a happy film, rather bitterly ironic," according to Gábor Várkonyi, who was the consultant historian for the film. "How much does it say about the present? Every film is about the present, and everybody wants to be a king, except those who are made kings, and it's bad for them too, he added.
The 41st Hungarian Film Week runs from February 2 until 8. So Much For Justice will open in broad release on February 11.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / Photo: Eszter Gordon
