User Reviews

First of all this is a Hungarian made film and using Hungarian actors with the exception of Britains Helen Mirren - and it is entirely in English.

You might wonder why Helen Mirren appears in this film and compare her role in 'the Queen' and 'The Tempest". If it was not for Helen Mirren, I doubt this film would have any publicity or marketing potential at all.

Helen Mirren plays an eccentric maid called Emerinc who basically works for a family across the street. She has had an interesting life but lives somewhat reclusive and nobody ever enters her house, hence the title of 'The Door'.

The film is essentially about Emerinc and her relationship with her employers. The story in a sense is very ordinary but this is a very interesting drama because it gives an insight into Hungarian folk life and provides a terrific acting platform for the great talents of Helen Mirren.

I liked the film very much. It is not a thriller in the normal sense but a slow slow drama which tells a story about a lonely woman and her relationship with her villagers.

While there is a definite dearth in good movies around at the moment, this one stands out as different and very watchable. Enjoy!

Not having read the novel, I am not sure whether the film is great or if the film was infused greatness by the novel. The subject is remarkable. The performances of the two leading ladies are remarkable too, with an unforgettable turn by Ms Mirren. A highlight are cameos by Czech director Jiri Menzel as a lung surgeon with director Istvan Szabo standing behind him at the door as his colleague. Evidently Szabo and Menzel were mutual admirers. Szabo's "Budapest Tales" and "Mephisto" are superior to this noteworthy work.

The more I think about it, the more I think this film serves as a metaphor for many things. Everyone has suffered pain and loss. Everyone has something to hide.

Emerence was not an easy person to get to know. Some people probably thought she was mean. Yet when she got to know about and care about someone, she was fiercely loyal and devoted, in spite of her past pain and loss.

Yet by contrast, there are plenty of people who are friendly and pleasant to all, easy to talk to about nothing substantial, and these people will smile in your face while they don't really give a Damn about you and could white possibly stab you in the back.

Szabo Istvan is not a contemplative filmmaker - which I don't really mean as an insult. A lot of "contemplative" filmmakers, at their worst, seem constipated more than anything (see some of the films of Szabo's younger countryman, Tarr Bela), whereas Szabo can achieve a forward propulsion that can at times be dazzling, as in the films with scenery-chewing actor Klaus Maria Brandeur that were the height of his international fame, or in "Being Julia." The director has a peculiar way of editing that has existed from his early Hungarian features ("Father," "25 Fireman's Street"); scenes often end abruptly, as though he had chopped the end off them, and then run to the next scene. This gives Szabos' films an odd rhythm that is alluring in his best work, but maddening and even incoherent in his less successful efforts.

"The Door" is not a peak; it is hardly a failure either. It shows the Szabo style at its best and worst. The dialogue is flung out by the actors, and can have the kind of hard brilliance that's found in the old screwball comedies (Helen Mirren, in what may be the best performance of her career as an astonishingly cantankerous old cleaning woman, has some especially hilarious insults and bitter, sour-faced advice-dispensing here), but much of it is also simply hard to catch. The movie keeps a fine, sprinting pace most of the way through. It only starts to crumble in the final quarter, at which point I admit I wasn't entirely sure what was going on. And here we have the failure of Szabo's films uncontemplative style. Watching his less successful films it is as if his producer has told him that he absolutely must clock in at under a certain time. "The Door" feels rushed; it hurries to the end, and suffers for it. One feels the same in other films directed by Szabo: "Taking Sides," which is gripping and interesting but finally frustrating, and the ambitious "Sunshine," which attempts to stuff Hungarian history from the late 19th century to the post-war era in under three hours.

Still, "The Door" is almost a great film from one of the last living European film directors of the old school. All of Szabo's work is worth seeking out. It's a shame that the few remaining filmmakers in the grand European style are marginalized - even when they make fine English-language movies with Oscar winners (see also Tavernier's "In the Electric Mist"), it's lucky if these see the light of day in most countries, while young "provocateurs" with nothing to say are lauded in the major festivals. And there's something at my local cinema titled "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters"...

This is an interesting movie. I've seen where many gave the movie bad marks. But, I think it is the artsy nature that causes misunderstanding. I found It unique, entertaining and sad.

This is a very interesting film. The first half is quite good & creates the requisite mystery around the elderly cleaning lady. I was curious to know who this audacious lady was, why she aroused such loyalty among her acquaintances & why she never opens the door to her home for anyone. So far so good. Oh, I did have a few issues with the abrupt manner of acting & editing, but I managed to maintain my interest as it has the appeal of a beautiful art film. However, things went down fast in the second half. The scenes seemed even more rushed. Besides, the addition of fantasy elements is always a sore spot for me.

So, in a nutshell, it started out interesting but went downhill from there.

I found this movie stunning. It transmits such a bittersweet feeling, sadness combined with a certain peace of mind, of heart perhaps... It's a movie that teaches you that you shouldn't be afraid of death,that loneliness,illness,the loss of beloved relatives can be worse than death. This movie tells you that you should never give up,and the main character, Emerenc's path is an example.She's a strong and straightforward woman, very decided when it comes to protect her intimacy and her memories from youth. She's helpful and loyal though cruel and blunt sometimes,she hides her feelings but they burst out in some wonderful scenes like the one with the china dog or the dinner where Evike never showed up. Best movie I've seen this year,the music and the lightning are extraordinary. The director, Szabo Istvan is entitled to receive many more credits than it had received until now.

Belonging to another time and another world perhaps, this inexplicable relationship between an author and her main remains just that, inexplicable.

A few times in ones lifetime they have the great fortune to discover a Jewel of a film. This movie is a Rare Gem. Few films are made with such passion and beauty. You must watch this movie. However you do not watch it as much as you savor it as you would a fine wine.

The synopsis for this movie states, "This is a story of a special relationship between two women, a writer and her maid." I was curious as to why it was so minimized a synopsis. Upon viewing the movie after only 25 minutes it was so clear to me why. There are not words precious enough to describe the synopsis/plot of this story.

Relationships as complex, beautiful and enduring as that which exist between these two women are beyond explanation. Starring Helen Mirren and Martina Gedeck.

Read the book by Magda Szabo (phenomenal) and was excited to see this movie version. However, I was very disappointed.

First, it's a highly condensed reinterpretation of a literary work focused on characterization. There wasn't enough time or means to have the characters emerge other than as 2D figures. Second, in the book, the buildup of tension to the end was extremely riveting and effective. There was nothing of that tension in this movie.

Also, I think the decision to shoot this in English was a bad idea. I think they wanted to get a global star (Helen Mirren in this case) but I disagree with this move. Also led to bad dubbing to other characters' words.

If you liked the book and are curious to see this anyway, just make sure to set your expectations low.

If you haven't read the book, it's possible that you will like it as it can be interesting in its own right.

she is the star. but in different mode. axis of story, her character is a pillar and window. the performance - long delicate precise chain of nuances is not a surprise. but the impression of new is powerful not only for the Hungarian soul of story, for the normal question why she accepts perform in a Central European film - her origins are not far than Mitteleurope, but for the excellent work. it is a beautiful film and the work of each actor is admirable. but she is the sun ray who gives something unique at all. and this is basic fact who recommend it. a detail who remember not the talent or the prizes, roles or genius but something special because her presence in cast is not a solution for advertising or clue for public but the perfect ingredient for an excellent show. a film about the past as skin of present. and a door. it is all.

After the first few minutes of The Door, I was thinking, will I be able to watch this all the way through? This was because it had the hallmarks of an arty, experimental film that usually winds up too boring to watch. Happily, this turned out not to be the case.

I started out watching The Door thinking that if Helen Mirren was in it it couldn't be too weird or pretentious. And, it wasn't. But it was different, creative, engrossing and interesting. The film's Tag Line indicates that it's about a relationship between two women with the focus on the relationship. This was true however I would amend that to say that the focus was really on Mirren's character who was the oddity in it. She was the pivot around which everyone and everything revolved.

The film was written, directed and photographed well enough that it wasn't boring. And, the acting, especially of Mirren, helped immensely. Someone without her skill and talent wouldn't have pulled it off. The character she played was unpleasant, bossy, critical, and lived by her own rules. At the same time there was enough about her that was positive to allow the film to work.

This is the kind of film you don't want to miss if you like to watch those that are not only entertaining but are something of a phenomenon, causing you to think.

From the opening scene I was wondering why the hell Helen Mirren agreed to this film. Such a terrible script, sped through with an unintelligible rate. And the overdubbing- awful. Wooden perfomances. Incoherent scenes and terrible direction.

Im guessing the bad reviews are coming from people with a happy upbringing. Emerenc reminded me of my Dutch, forever single and very private mother. She saw a lot as a child, during the war and was also very lonely. My mum was hard, but I miss her and I miss her dark, dark sence of humour. Emerenc is my mother.

Helen Mirren's star role can't save this load of rubbish. Implausible situations, constant out-of-character behaviour, implausible behaviour generally, wooden acting, stilted script, silly accents, bad dubbing, ridiculous story-line. Even a sterling effort by the dog doesn't hold it up. Whether it's the fault of the original novel, the translation or the script, or the direction, the result is the same - torturous time-filling- in. Don't even bother to ff. Next!

the definitions are not the inspired way to describe this special film. because it is a return to the small things who are too precious and fragile for be parts of a definition. and because the acting is , in this case, not exactly good or remarkable or impressive or seductive or precise. it is only is. sure, the axis is the work of Hellen Mirren. but her admirable performance gives opportunity to discover the sides of story in the right light. and to her partners to build solid characters. it is a film about a meet and memories and tragic decisions and the present who preserves old scarfs. and about the silence inside the words. a film from the East because the East is the best embroidery of old dramatic stories and immortal memories. a film for reflect, understand and admire. and about trust. and friendship. and the bitter beauty of solitude.

This film is so beautifully made and so heartbreaking. What tenderness is in man's heart when one stops to look.

The stalwarts and supporters can say what they like, this film is a waste of stock. Disconnected direction, poor script and a few non actors aside, those who could do it were working against instinct, and though Helen Mirren's characterisation was driven from the core, the others were simply getting the pathetic dialogue into the recorder in the bland and unlikely order in which it was written.

A very dull and unsatisfying story is told via confused direction, wooden performances, bland delivery, and a narrative that stifles the suspension of disbelief.

This film is an utter masterpiece. I've never seen anything like it, and found myself riveted to every word, every action, every camera angle. Helen Mirren and Martina Gedeck are absolutely flawless, and their chemistry together is superb. So, if you love the pursuit of truth and trust, challenges placed in front of organized religion (though not godless), homey mysteries, flashback storytelling, cats and dogs (or either one), references to the two devastating wars in the first half of the 20th century, and post-war suburban tales of sadness overcome in unique ways--or perhaps not overcome at all--then you'll love this classic film. I feel sure the low star rating is because the dialogue is so poetic and nuanced that the average person has not educated himself enough to understand what is being said. Mores the pity. This is a work of art not to be forgotten. Bravo to all involved!

I do not understand what happened with the voicing for this film. It is described as being made in English. Looking at the lips of the actors, they seem to be speaking the words that can be heard. But apart from Helen Mirren, the other characters sound strangely overdubbed. This peculiarity marred what could otherwise have been a more engaging story.

I think there is a good story lurking somewhere and I note from another reviewer that the film is based on a book and is for that reviewer an unsatisfactory resume of the book. That seems to me to be what has happened, because I sense there is an underlying compelling tale. However, it had a feel of cartoon about it, rather than genuine drama.

There is some good acting from Helen Mirren and occasional moments of humour, but I get the impression that the film did not get to the heart of the novel.

OK - Helen Mirren is a marvelous actress - but playing the role of a stolid post-WWII Hungarian rural peasant in a meaningful way is beyond her reach.

So she basically opted to play some version of a cockney "feed the birds" London street character a/la Mary Poppins - no singing, but lots of cats.

The other actors also are similarly professional - but quite bloodless in their roles - which leaves one rather bemused as to what the take-away is from the story.

In sum, I imagine that the original book is considerably more complex and resonant of some deeply ingrained cultural complexities in Post-War Hungary - but all of that is lost in the Director's adaptation.

So, a solid "5", but that's it.

I originally turned the movie off about a third into it because there were too many missing pieces to understand character motivations. The characters move through the plot line like cardboard cutouts or puppets. One minute the rich couple is adjusting to Emerenc presence and unusual style the next the husband throws a temper tantrum. The idea that Magda writes a prize winning book and faces no challenges from the Cold War regime is a big miss and distraction.and the director misses so many chances to describe the poetry and irony of life. The director also treats the audience as somehow clueless. For instance there is a storm and Emerence runs frightened of the lightning back to her house. Tibor and Magda observe this and Tibor says quite melodramatically and almost as an aside to the audience "There MUST be a reason!" Well duh, we can deduce that. And yet at other moments we are left wondering who other characters are and what significance they have in the plot. Even the dog is portrayed as a kind of old Lassy movie stereotype which might have been more believable if more scenes were shown with Emerence making a connection with and showing some hidden traits of empathy so we could believe the dogs amazing near human reactions. I finally turned the movie on again and watch it to the end. My conclusion is that without having read the book, the movie betrays the story and fails to adequately involve the viewer in the inner psyche and motivations of the characters other than Emerenc, the zeitgeist of Cold War Hungary, and the poetic metaphors that a good novel can convey. For me, not worth the watch unless you want to be left wishing this potentially poignant story had been told in the way certain British mini series can only portray. Perhaps someone will do a remake one day.