SYNOPSIS:

Local reporter MARTIN GARCIA investigates a story about the love life of retirees and meets ANDREW MORGAN, a jovial senior walking his dog. To his surprise, Martin learns that Andrew was arrested by Nazis as a kid but escaped and later lived through the Hungarian Revolution. “Wait a minute. You got arrested by Nazis?” Intrigued, Martin invites him for drinks where he learns the details of Andrew’s story. Young ENDRE (Andrew) finds himself growing up fast as his father gets conscripted into a labor brigade and his mother gets marched to a camp in Germany. With most of his family missing, Endre joins a communist resistance group and works as a messenger against the Nazis. He survives most of the war disguised as a fascist Arrow Cross activist. Near the end of the war, Endre gets picked up out of disguise and sent to headquarters, where a sergeant orders him sent to the ninth floor for execution. KALMAN, a young Hungarian soldier, leads him away to imminent death, but instead he takes Endre into a small room and hides him for several days as the Nazis retreat and the Soviets move in. Kalman and Endre say good bye and go their separate ways. On his way home Endre sees the Red Army has taken the city by storm, raping and looting at will. Andrew recounts the struggles amid history and the new communist politics shaping Hungary and the people of Budapest: secret police, Stalin, and the new dictators. He gets drafted into the air force then kicked out when a classmate defects with a plane. Andrew goes to work in a radio factory, studies at night, and dreams of starting over in America. He attends a meeting of the Petofi Circle and marches with student protestors where he witnesses the inciting moments of the Hungarian Revolution. Police fire at students, and citizens storm the armories. Andrew takes us to an incredible place and time as demonstrators use blowtorches, chains and cranes to topple a giant statue of Stalin in Hero’s Square. Andrew flees Budapest in the aftermath as the Soviets reclaim the city and ends up in America where he starts over in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Models of Success: Defiance, Schindler’s List, Enemy at the Gates, The King’s Speech, Reds, Hotel Rwanda, Johnny Tremain, Downfall, The Grey Zone, Saving Private Ryan, The Reader, Ghandi, Valkyrie, Inglorious Basterds, The Pianist We are seeking Producers and Financing Partners. Screenplay available upon request.