La juste route

Almost to the end of "1945", writer/ director Ferenc Torok keeps the audience in the dark regarding the rationale of the players. It is a masterful screenplay, full of mystery and expectation, which makes the pacing seem sluggish. Gradually, however, the pieces and clues all fit together in this post-WWII story of past betrayal and cupidity.

The picture was shot in black and white and with an authentic feel of a 40's film. Torok assembled a cast of talented actors, most unknown outside of Hungary, and there is not an amateur performance among them. The star is Peter Rudolf who plays Istvan, the town clerk mainly responsible for what has befallen the town, as the two Hasidic men walk slowly into town with their 'cargo'. I am not going to tip off the reasons behind the plot, but "1945" may be the best film that has played on American soil this year. Be prepared to use your best powers of deduction as the tantalizing story unfolds, because this one will require all your concentration.

Previous reviews have failed to take account of this film's "Sitz im Leben"-- the current situation in Hungary, where the Fidesz government under Orbán Viktor has played footsie with the broad swath of irredentist voters who continue to harbor anti-Semitic leanings. Hungary has not yet come to terms with its role in the murder of its Jewish citizens. For example, the recently erected monument to Victims of Nazi Aggression portrays Hungary as a Victim State, not as a willing cooperator in the execution of roughly 5% of the national population. But it was Hungarian officials that carried out the orders, not Germans. Hungarian officialdom and non-officialdom was more than willing to participate in the Holocaust, but they are loath to acknowledge any corporate responsibility.

A personal but illustrative anecdote. About seven years ago I was teaching at a gimnázium in a town not far from Budaptest and went to see the movie "Avatar" at a local theater over a weekend. The next Monday, as part of English conversation class, I told my students what I had done, that I had gone to thus and such theater to see the movie. The immediate response to my statement came from a student whom I had come to know as a pretty bright kid who was eager to learn. He said, "Oh yes, Jews own that theater."

Where the f*** did that come from? Over the past few years I have realized that it comes from the same deep-rooted inability of Hungarians to understand that their loss of territory after WWI and their continuing economic problems come not from their "enemies" (Jews above all, but Gypsies too) but from themselves and the same culture of self-deception and corruption that is depicted in this film.

Which film, by the way, is elegantly framed and carefully composed, is presented with almost stately precision, and which I highly, highly recommend.

It reminds me "The Visit of Old Lady" by Friedrich Durrenmatt. it reminds the Old Greak tragedies. in special sense. in specific manner. two Jews in a Hungarian village. two hutches. a way. a wedding. memories about dark past. and everything becomes different.

for me, a masterpiece. for the clash between minimalism of the presence of the two strangers and the community storm. for the performances. and impecable craft of story. but, more important, for the status of near story. from the past of grandparents of Central Europe. for the force of cinema to give a sort of social exorcisation. for the art to give the realistic portrait of a world. for define the sin. and the choices behind the deep fears. a film about hidden demons. memories. papers. ambitions of actuary. answer of a husband. indifference of a priest. decision of a son. and the train. in the station of a village.

A very powerful and moving drama. A perfect illustration of human greed. The cinematography of Ferenc Török's team is technically perfect, the authoritative script, well-made costumes and the highly suggestive musical outline. A description of how the infamities perpetrated in the course of life are paid at a high price, on the one hand the devastated Jewish people and on the other those who wanted to take advantage in the bloody period of the war and the territory of none of the material possessions without any mercy. In conclusion, everyone pays, without exception, those who have lost their loved ones in the death camps and those who have lost them for their cruelty. The movements of the camera, the perspectives, the points of view and the objects in the frame are of high school and the film is shot in a beautiful and very clean black and white. The ending is masterful and I think that in my mind the images of the black smoke of the train that can be combined with the lives killed in the crematoria of the Nazi prison camps will never be erased, I cried for them. Magnificent work of art.

This movie is a masterpiece! It depicts antisemitism and guilt after WWII really well. The cinematography, the music and the direction are really stunning. Bergman would have loved it. 10/10. Never forget. We remember.