The latest Szomjas opus gives the American road movie a distinctively Magyar inflection. Shot documentary-style in 16mm, Mr. Universe reeks of subtext. The three principals are all expatriates: the ineptly scheming hero is played by nouvelle vague icon László Szabo, his marginally Americanized friend is experimental videomaker George Pinter, while the eponymous Mr. Universe is none other than muscleman Mickey Hargitay, who left Budapest for Brooklyn in 1947 and became the Arnold Schwarzenegger of his day-"When I hear people say that America is the land of opportunity I say wow. Where else could a crazy Hungarian get wealthy and Jayne Mansfield too?" Appearing briefly but memorably as himself, Hargitay functions as a kind of holy grail. He is the most successful of all Szomjas heroes-or rather, a Szomjas hero's idea of making it to the top. Inspired by the televised interview with Hargitay he's glimpsed in a Budapest bar, Szabo flies to New York, locates a long lost pal (not just a would-be movie maker but an old family friend of Hargitay's) and then drives with him to Hollywood to recruit the great man to star in the story of his life. Not surprisingly, Szabo's rosy Hungarian fantasy clashes with baffling American reality before he reaches the magnificent Beverly Hills mansion that flies both the U.S. and Hungarian flags. J. Hoberman