The Restless Hungarian: Review

16th August 2023

Tom Weidlinger had a somewhat adventurous early childhood which took his family from their home in Hungary, to Boliva until finally settling in America. Tom’s father, Paul was a well-respected structural engineer and so despite the best efforts of the world around them, Tom’s father was always able to find work. Even today some of the sculptures he helped create still stand in New York City.

However, there was another side of his father that Tom didn’t know about and as he started documenting his father’s life for his documentary, he came across some astonishing discoveries.

The most prominent one being that his father was Jewish and their family had to flee Hungary just before the start of World War Two. That and his childhood was fraught with many situations that could have put them in danger.

The Restless Hungarian is a documentary about Paul Weidlinger’s life, told by his son Tom who became a filmmaker. Somebody who perhaps the world would not have known about, Paul’s work took him all over the world and his brushes with history made more of an impact than his son ever realised.

Using stock footage, photos and some creative reenactments, Tom Weidlinger tells the story of his father’s life whilst coming to terms with what it all meant. A documentary which could have been a simple fact checking of Paul Weidlinger’s life becomes something more personal. Something which is carefully balanced due to his son’s skill as a filmmaker as he balances warmth of family whilst acknowledging the horrific events which touched his family’s life.

While also something so personal, Tom decides to mostly stay off camera, choosing to tell his father’s story perhaps as it was intended. This while also helps to distance him emotionally, it could be said that it helps the audience to not just see The Restless Hungarian as a passion project.

A story worth telling with an amazing trajectory through the space of over twenty years. The Restless Hungarian manages to tell a fascinating story of one man’s life and how it went from near disaster to a lasting legacy.

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