Torzók

Abandoned also known as Torzok is a powerful movie. It was made in Hungary and is a fine example of the East European cinema. Its director Árpád Sopsits shows the reality of a reformatory school during a communist regime in the country. He uses the yellow color to separate the dream like scenes from the rest - this color technique is later used in the movie Traffic. The movie portrays the harsh reality of the live in Hungary from that time because it is actually based on the writer/director's own childhood.

The main character is Áron - a boy send to a reformatory school not because he has some something , but because his mother is sick and the father does not want to take care of his son. Once in the school Áron has to face the initial hostility of the lands there towards the newcomers - including beatings and hard words .He manages to survive through all those harsh moments and is soon accepted and befriended by the boys from the school.

The actors in the movies are exceptionally talented despite their young age and the characters they portray come to live - each with its own uniqueness. The overall atmosphere is dark and the movie can be considered as hard to watch by anyone - probably the only one witch harsher atmosphere on a similar topic was in the movie Song for a raggy boy . The few moments of hope which the viewers can observe are directly related to the friendship between Aron and another student Attila as well as the one with his melancholic teacher Gálffi - who seems to be the only teacher from the reformatory school who cares of his students and opposes even the despotic director of the institution.

Some of the scenes are really cruel - in one of them one of the teachers makes few boys to beat a friend of theirs themselves because he prayed to God - which was forbidden during the communist years. The cruelty in which the boys in the school are treated is awful and I do not buy the statement of their directors - that this is the only way to prepare them for the reality outside .

The soundtrack is very powerful -classic music mostly - a bit of melancholic as well - it really contributes to the overall atmosphere.

I wonder if viewers sometimes give a film low marks not because it's poorly made, but because it's a film that doesn't deliver a happy ending, nice and tidy--just as others can't stand The Sound of Music because the finale, though cherry, is overly simplistic, given the circumstances. Abandoned is about the way some institutions operated in Hungary at a certain time and place, the way government at all levels abandoned it's responsibility as did parents and teachers and those in charge of children. This is not a make-believe Rodgers and Hammerstein song-fest with happy kiddies mindlessly dancing by the riverside, but a grim and realistic picture of the hopelessness of a happy future when the system fails everyone. It is not a cheerer-upper but a well-acted film accurately reflecting a time and place--so if you're looking for children rising above a situation over which they have no control, this is not the film for you. But it is an often compelling film which was meant to make a positive difference, and as such, one gives it credit.

This is a Hungarian film about a child being abandoned by his father. The child was sent to an orphanage, where he and other children were treated cruelly by the orphanage master. The children could not tolerate such torture anymore, and decided to escape. Although, the escape was successful, one of the children fell into the river and died. Another child got a high fever. Therefore, they had to seek help. Back in the orphanage they were punished cruelly, and the children were made to bear the name of murderers.

I think it would be good if the film would say something about why the children suddenly ended up back in the orphanage after their escape. Did they walk back? Were they caught by the police? Were they caught by the orphanage master? It didn't say in the film.

When I watched this film, I felt very sad. I could not believe that children could be treated so badly. They had to whip each other as a form of punishment. If they show any mercy they will be punished too. In this environment of terror, I think it is very harmful to the development of the children. Without love and care, the children will grow up to become delinquents.

And yet, I believe that there are many institution in the world that treats children like this. As many people would know, the orphan problem is very bad in Eastern Europe. There are many orphans living in orphanages, and even more orphans have to live on the streets or in the sewers. They are left alone by their parents, and even outcast by their society.

I feel very touched by this film. Indeed, many viewers of this film were touched, too, they felt very sorry for the children. Maybe this film can increase the awareness of the orphan problem in the world. When the awareness increase, then the children are more likely to receive a better treatment.

'Torzók' ('Abandoned') is a brilliant Hungarian film written and directed by Árpád Sopsits that takes us back to Hungary of 1960 when the oppressive Communist rule altered the lives of everyone, especially children. The quality of the film is absolutely first rate from story to acting to filming to scoring. It may be a tough film to absorb and certainly not for the easily offended, but it is a perfectly honed gem of a film that deserves wide audience exposure.

Áron (Tamás Mészáros) is a young lad whose life seems warm at first until suddenly a disease of vision impairment attacks his mother and his parents divorce: the mother is somewhere in a hospital and the father (Sándor Gáspár) beats the boy and eventually turns him over to a rigid orphanage for boys run by cruel taskmasters. Áron undergoes initiation tactics by his fellow orphans but despite the beatings he is strong enough to survive. He is befriended when he has his nightmares about his mother's blindness by his friend Atilla (Szabolcs Csizmadia) and the two bond emotionally and physically. In this bleak atmosphere a little light comes from the beautiful young housekeeper Anya (Krisztina Somogyi) but even her contributions are compromised by the cruelty of the staff. There is one 'teacher' in the orphanage school, Nyitrai (László Gálffi) who has been reduced to his position as an 'imprisoned one' by the government and his sadness is offset by his playing his cello and studying his beloved astronomy. Nyitrai offers Áron solace and introduces his 'fellow traveler' to the glory of the stars, giving Áron a map of the heavens that Áron cherishes - his window to a world beyond the dark confines of his prison-like orphanage. He gradually wins over his fellow orphans and when Nyitrai, in the pit of depression for his life situation and the cruelty of the orphanage and the government, hangs himself. This horrid incident drives Áron to organize an escape from the orphanage, an event that is ultimately fractured with a death for which Áron feels responsible. And the end of the film fades into the many possibilities that event could trigger.

The atmosphere created by the stunning cinematography by Péter Szatmári defines the darkness that represents the orphanage well but also suggests the darkness in Hungary of that period. The musical score by Péter Fejcsik, Tamás Görgényi, Ferenc Toma, and Balázs Winkler is some of the most beautiful composed for the screen, making tremendously effective use of the cello and lower strings. In all, this is a brilliant piece of film-making, acted with depth in every role, and unveiling a portion of history and tragedy too often pushed to the background of our books. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp

Torzok a.k.a. Abandoned is set in a Hungarian orphanage in 1960, which means pretty much anyone watching the movie is simply an alien to the subject and setting. But it captivates you, teaches you, and delivers an excellent medley of emotions. The boys, the good teacher, the nasty headmaster, the lady.. Everyone's showing pearls of acting! The soundtrack is good too. By the time I'm writing this review, the movie is rated 6.4 on IMDB, and that's absolutely underrated. I wasn't impressed by the ending, but other than that the movie was quite fascinating. A Swedish movie called Ondskan, which is somewhat similar to this one in subject, is considerably better. So if you like this one, you should see that one too. But then again, if you like that one, you should see this one too! I think Abandoned could have been longer, and the ending could have been much better. Nonetheless, it's a marvellous movie and I'll give it an 8.5/10 easily.