Bahrtalo! (Good Luck!)

BAHRTALO! is a Transylvanian road movie about two endearingly grating Romanian friends trying to wheel and deal their way through the new global economy. Lali is a gregarious, mustachioed Gypsy, and Lóri an ethnic Hungarian. Constantly cash-strapped, they embark on a series of cross-border schemes. Their first stop is Vienna, with a tip that there's a mysterious store where they can buy stuff cheap and sell it back home. But their car breaks down, they get lost, and the store turns out to be a glorified flea market. With not much at home to return to, Lóri takes off for Egypt, where he becomes a tour guide for Hungarians visiting the pyramids, leaving Lali to fend for himself. In constant cell phone contact, the buddies come up with new plans, including importing a dog from Romania to Egypt and bringing Egyptian bazaar trinkets back to Romania. Lali, being a Gypsy, can make himself at home everywhere. Amidst a Babel of languages, he greets Austrians, Hungarians, Turks, and Egyptians all with a hearty “BAHRTALO!” and then starts haggling with them. This colorful, comical documentary– an exploration of the modern realities of Eastern Europe– features music performed by The Younger Gipsy Band from Szászcsávás. (In Hungarian and Romanian with English subtitles) – B.B.