Liza, The fox fairy
September 2018
Promo poster for Liza, the Fox Fairy Photo: IMDB/MNF
When I first began watching Liza, the Fox-Fairy I almost immediately switched it off: A dreamy girl of 30 years in braids (Mónika Balsai) who seriously believes she will find her true love based on a Japanese story she has read over and over. Liza also has an imaginary friend (David Sakurai) in the form of the ghost of a Japanese pop star who dances around with her in a mint green suit. I figured, “Yeah, let’s see what else I can find.”
However, just as I was about to tune out, something drew me back in. Sheer curiosity forced me to watch this poor girl’s ill-fated plan of finding love at the local burger joint after begging for a break on her birthday; she had served as nurse to her ailing boss for more than a decade presumably without any such breaks. Concurrently, Tomi Tan (Sakurai) proved he was far more than just a friendly ghost. A nasty curse ensues, and bodies start piling up. But Liza never gives up on love and finally believes she has met her soulmate; of course, she has that kind of messed up too.
Liza is played to perfection by Balsai. With some help from a copy of Cosmo, she finally transforms her image via the go-go outfit seen in all the film’s promotional marketing and apparently then decides to never take the new dress off. Szabolcs Bede Fazekas as Sergeant Zoltán is both hilarious and incredibly touching. And Antal Cserna could not have been more convincingly slimy.
Directed by Károly Ujj Mészáros, Liza, the Fox-Fairy racked up some 24 awards at ceremonies around the world, including the New Director’s Prize at the Seattle International Film Festival and Best Film as well as Best Actress, Audience Award at the Los Angeles Hungarian Film Festival. It’s mix of romance, satire, humor, sex, and horror is an absolute trip and definitely worth a watch.
However, just as I was about to tune out, something drew me back in. Sheer curiosity forced me to watch this poor girl’s ill-fated plan of finding love at the local burger joint after begging for a break on her birthday; she had served as nurse to her ailing boss for more than a decade presumably without any such breaks. Concurrently, Tomi Tan (Sakurai) proved he was far more than just a friendly ghost. A nasty curse ensues, and bodies start piling up. But Liza never gives up on love and finally believes she has met her soulmate; of course, she has that kind of messed up too.
Liza is played to perfection by Balsai. With some help from a copy of Cosmo, she finally transforms her image via the go-go outfit seen in all the film’s promotional marketing and apparently then decides to never take the new dress off. Szabolcs Bede Fazekas as Sergeant Zoltán is both hilarious and incredibly touching. And Antal Cserna could not have been more convincingly slimy.
Directed by Károly Ujj Mészáros, Liza, the Fox-Fairy racked up some 24 awards at ceremonies around the world, including the New Director’s Prize at the Seattle International Film Festival and Best Film as well as Best Actress, Audience Award at the Los Angeles Hungarian Film Festival. It’s mix of romance, satire, humor, sex, and horror is an absolute trip and definitely worth a watch.
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