Without Air

In small-town Hungary, Ana is a beloved teacher of literature, who tends not to slavishly follow the official curriculum, but uses creative methods. In discussing the French poet Rimbaud, she assigns as optional homework the viewing of the film Total Eclipse (1995), which depicts Rimbaud in a homosexual relationship. While she has done that for many years without complaint, this time a conservative father happens upon his son watching the film on his computer, and he launches a complaint about the immoral material. A committee is formed to determine whether the film is age-appropriate.

Concerned with the school's upcoming 150th-anniversary celebrations, the school principal tries to sweep this under the carpet with a temporary reprimand. But Ana is standing on principle, and is worried about the implications of censorship, so she appeals. That brave and foolish move forces a bigger inquiry, which causes a bigger fuss.

I saw this at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the director said it was inspired by a real incident. Written during the COVID lockdown and shot in 2021, this film has become very topical, as issues of banning the discussion of sexuality in even high schools has emerged in various locations outside Hungary.

The incident referenced here actually happened happened in Romania (but could happen anywhere), yet incidentally there's a film with much more gusto about this subject from there which won the Berlin Golden Bear, "Bad Luck Banging", in which a teacher has to face a PTA because of leaked homemade porn. That film is way over the top and filled with useless symbolism, but it's interesting because it evolves from an intellectual exercise into a full-blown satire.

This Hungarian treatment of administrative bullying in a small town over something as trite as a boring Leo Di Caprio film takes a serious approach but remains horribly dry as a result. The school's staff easily relents to a homophobic attack and uses this to exert authority over a defenseless victim, but there's no real conflict. In the German "Teacher's Lounge", a student rallies his class into bullying a teacher after she caught his mother stealing. That film builds into a major confrontation, this one refrains from making any statement. It's just a few predictable talking points and therefore doesn't do its subject any service or justice.

The story originally happened to a Romanian teacher and the film also takes place in Romania (but in an ethnic Hungarian grammar school), so it is only indirectly about the Orbán régime. However, since then, a law has been passed in Hungary that bans talking to minors about homosexuality, so this is quite a relevant topic in Hungary.

The film presents social pressure very effectively, it is difficult to watch how her colleagues turn against the popular Hungarian literature teacher, who recommended the film Total Eclipse to her students when learning about Rimbaud.

I understand that the creators wanted to avoid using a heavy-handed approach, and for this reason, there are hardly any discussions about the subject matter, but this can leave the viewer feeling that too many things were left unsaid. The main character is also very quiet and subdued, which sometimes comes across a bit unnatural in her situation. Not totally unnatural though, since she is a literature teacher, I suppose it is plausible that she would never get angry or use any bad words.

What happens to the other main character (the student) is also shown in an understated way, perhaps the depiction is a bit too subtle for true drama.

For a film to provide a critique of a régime or a way of thinking, biting satire is more effective, like in the cult Hungarian film The Witness (A tanú). A more subtle approach, as the one used here, might feel a little weak.

This is a really well worked film. The teacher at the centre of it is doing her job well, just the way she has for the last few years. But things have changed in the political environment, and things that used to be OK have been declared inappropriate.

The teacher thinks the change is regressive, and stands her ground, but soon loses the support of those around her, and those who stay in support find themselves being pressured in other ways.

To understand the film, it's useful to have some understanding of the political changes in Hungary and Romania at the time.

Overall it's well played out, and we strongly sympathised with the teacher in the central role. It's also a generic story looking at just one aspect of how an authoritarian regime works its restrictions into the society it seeks to control.