A VISZKIS

Attila Ambrus always treats himself to a whiskey before he robs a bank. When, after more than twenty successful robberies, he is finally caught and subsequently interrogated for days on end by a frustrated police officer, Ambrus opens up and tells him his story. Born in Ceauşescu's Romania as part of the Hungarian minority, he is jailed as a teenager due to petty crimes. After fleeing to Hungary in 1988 he initially keeps his head above water with a combination of casual labour and his earnings as a hockey player. To become a Hungarian national however he has to bribe high-ranking officials. Thus, it is that his lucrative career as a bank robber begins, a path which brings him extraordinary riches which he proceeds to squander on luxury cars and exclusive trips abroad. In an entertaining and enthralling fashion director Antal tells the tale of a popular bandit who undertook a number of spectacular robberies between 1993 and 1999. His extravagant disguises guaranteed Ambrus both infamy and popularity amongst the general public. The film can also be seen as a parable on the “Wild East” period, full of corruption and undreamt-of opportunities, that followed the fall of socialism. In Hungary THE WHISKEY BANDIT, which cost the equivalent of 10 million EUR to produce, met expectations in proving a huge hit, attracting as it did more than 300,000 spectators. JT