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Reviews
Szerdai gyerek (2015)
Fine Hungarian :Art: Film
A courageous but susceptible young woman is anxious to get her slow-witted son out of an orphanage, but realizes that she will get no help from her common-law husband, who is a low-level criminal and only is nice to her when he needs something. He also has no interest in the son. So she tries to embark on a career as a laundress and is befriended by the coordinator of the collective sponsoring her. It isn't easy. She's embittered about her own childhood, she loves a selfish jerk and her friends aren't so great either. She makes all sorts of mistakes, but survives because her love for her son is authentic and drives her. There is a compelling simplicity about the story-telling and the acting. No special effects or obtrusive directing, with a lovely lyric soundtrack. An anti-blockbuster sort of film; wonderfully moving and refreshing. Should appeal to anyone who roots for the underdog.
Susuz Yaz (1963)
Strong Drama of Rural Passions
This is a tense, strong drama, although perhaps not for the squeamish. The photography is artistically done, on the other hand the looping is typical 60s; that is, artificial. Evocative use is made of the santur, a Turkish string instrument like a cimbalom. A completely different kind of music accompanies fights and scenes of violence. Then we switch to avant garde atonal riffs; here the instruments are Western. The camera is almost always close to the action, helping to create a sense of claustrophobia. The dialog is sparse; the director preferring to rely on meaningful glances. There are no snappy one-liners. Most of the film is easily understood without even looking at the subtitles. There are some particularly memorable, even disturbing images near the end. The title might be better translated as "Thirsty Summer," suggesting as it does the rapacity driving the main character.