“We’re building a non alcoholic café, and Laci… drinks!” 😒
Imagine: a (very) hard-luck couple, Aniko and Laci, whose lives change in an instant when they win HUF 636 million in the lottery. But does money change people? Or will it bring new challenges into their lives and make life even more difficult than before?
“Fortuna’s Guests” is a moving Hungarian documentary that delves deep into the true value of human relationships, love and happiness.
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I was so looking forward to finally watching this movie and I was not disappointed 🙂
Synopsis
Anikó and Laci are a couple in their fifties from Győr. Before they won €630 million in the Scandinavian Lottery, they were living in poverty day by day. Laci supported the family by delivering newspapers and taking care of Aniko, who had not left the apartment for 25 years because of her panic disorder.
A lottery win will give them both the chance to live a comfortable, joyful life like never before. But Aniko and Laki have very different ideas about what would give them pleasure. While Laci’s wish is to get out of work and travel together, Aniko wants to be herself, open a café, organise a foundation and manage the finances.
Conflicting dreams and financial difficulties turn the couple’s lives upside down. Will money bring them happiness?
We watched the documentary and it was well worth it!
Anikó, a woman struggling with panic disorder, and Laci, an alcoholic, soft-spoken husband, lived their daily lives around work, addiction, family obligations and the challenges of marriage, until a fateful win rewrites their lives.
The documentary “Fortuna’s Guests” follows the evolution of this extraordinary story.
Through the film’s journey, viewers will gain insight into how sudden wealth affects Aniko and Laci’s lives, how they try to cope with their new situation and the challenges they face. The documentary reveals a profound human story in which money is just a starting point and the real issues lie in the relationships between people, the meaning of life and finding happiness.
In the making of the film, director Mátyás Kálmán follows the couple’s life closely (for years!), allowing viewers to witness real, honest moments. Sometimes these moments are right, sometimes they are embarrassing… but that’s the honest, the sincere.
The director shows with subtle sensitivity how the couple copes with sudden changes, while maintaining their love and respect for each other and trying to build a new life.
“I’ve never been so scared of anything in my life, because now the stakes are high.”
“Fortune’s Guests” is not just a documentary about the lives of a lottery-winning couple, but a profound and thought-provoking work that shows that true values and happiness can be found beyond money. The story of Aniko and Laci is an inspiring example of how the power of love, perseverance and togetherness can overcome the greatest challenges. Of course, the road is not smooth…
So this extraordinary story is not just about winning the lottery, but rather a journey into the depths of the human soul, searching for the true source of happiness. The experiences of Aniko and Laci’s lives inspire us to appreciate the small pleasures in life and to remember that true richness lies in love and human relationships, in each other.
Nevertheless, the film is very entertaining, sometimes you’re horrified, sometimes you’re touched and you cry because of it, and Aniko and Laci are endlessly sympathetic. Even when they swear, when Laci stares at the TV, when Aniko believes she can be an entrepreneur in a few days… They are simple, honest, and they would like to be a little bit better. Be a little different. Full of traumas, injuries… maybe they can still get some of the good stuff.
At the end of the film, after sitting in the audience and applauding this excellent experience, the director walked in with a microphone and told us how honoured he was to be here, what the situation was with Laci and the others. Yes, it was a real experience! 🙂
(I’ve noticed that I regularly cry when someone else has a big hit, I can just be moved instead of everyone else – so after the screening was over, I did a few more bawls. Am I getting old? :))
Thanks to everyone who contributed and to the couple who let us in!
“We’re building a non alcoholic café, and Laci… drinks!”
“We’ve lost another 20 million.”
“We haven’t been anywhere in 3 years, a normal person who wins the lottery would say you’re stupid, man.”
Director: Kálmán Mátyás
Producer / Producer: Matyas Kalman, Agnes Horvath-Szabo, Bojan Kanjera, Tibor Keser
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