The film begins in modern day Budapest, Hungary and the story is shown in flashback. The viewer is taken back to Budapest in the 1930's, as the story centers around "Szabo", a restaurant owned by middle-aged Lazslo Szabo. Lazslo's girlfriend, the stunningly beautiful Ilona, is employed as a waitress. While the two have a close and loving relationship, Ilona is reluctant to settle down into a deeply committed relationship with Lazslo. Their relationship becomes more complicated when Lazslo decides to hire a pianist for the restaurant in order to give it a classier atmosphere. At Ilona's behest, he hires Andras, a quietly passionate and talented pianist. Andras is instantly smitten with Ilona and she in turn finds herself desperately attracted to the darkly handsome musician and they begin a passionate affair. Ilona, however, still very much loves Lazslo and does not want to leave him but cannot bring herself to give either of the men up. For his part, Lazslo, does not want to let Ilona go either, although he is deeply frustrated and hurt by her affair with Andras. Soon Andras realizes what Lazslo has known all along, that neither one can possess Ilona and have her all to himself, and they both agree to at least have a part of her as long as she stays in their lives. They form a menage-a-trois of sorts as both men accept that she will share them and soon a bond of friendship forms between all three of them.

For Ilona's birthday, Andras composes the song Gloomy Sunday for her and plays it at "Szabo." The song becomes an instant favorite among the clientele and it becomes the most requested song every evening. With the help of Lazslo, Andras is able to obtain a record deal and Gloomy Sunday becomes a sensation. But the melancholy song soon sets off a rash of suicides and it becomes known as a cursed song.

The Lazslo,-Ilona,-Andras trio becomes even more complicated with the presence of yet a fourth man for whom there is really no room. Hans Wieck, a German businessman becomes a patron of "Szabo", making it a point to eat there every time he visits Budapest, for their delicious beef rolls which he loves. Hans finds himself completely taken with Ilona and asks her to marry him so that they can return to Germany. Ilona, however, does not share Hans' feelings and rejects his advances. Before he returns to Germany, Hans has a run-in with Lazslo which allows them to form a bond of friendship and trust and leaves Hans indebted to Lazslo.

Several years later, Hans returns to Budapest, but this time he is a nazi SS officer. Hitler's German forces have occupied Hungary and now things have changed, especially for the Jewish residents. Hans comes back to "Szabo" and back to Ilona, Lazslo, and Andras but this time he has something that he did not have before - power. The story unfolds for the foursome against the backdrop of the Holocaust and the plaintive tune of Gloomy Sunday.

This film is poignant and stirring and provides a stunning ending. The performances are top-notch, particularly from Joachim Krol as Lazslo, Stefano Dionisi as Andras, Erika Marozsan as Ilona, and Ben Becker as Hans. I especially liked Ben Becker, who gave a very complex and memorable performance. Also of interest, the character of Lt. Colonel Eichbaum in the film is a fictionalized version of Lt. Colonel Adolf Eichmann, who has been discussed in this blog in previous entries. Gloomy Sunday is in German with English subtitles.