1945
On a sweltering August day in 1945, villagers prepare for the wedding of the town clerk's son. Meanwhile, two Orthodox Jews arrive at the village train station with mysterious boxes labeled "fragrances." The town clerk fears the men may be heirs of the village's deported Jews and expects them to demand their illegally acquired property back, originally lost during the second World War. Other villagers are afraid more survivors will come, posing a threat to the property and possessions they have claimed as their own.
Director:
Ferenc Török
Cast:
Péter Rudolf, Bence Tasnádi, Tamás Szabó Kimmel
Screenplay:
Gábor T. Szántó, Ferenc Török
Screening Date:
Oct 28, 2017
Studio:
Menemsha Films
Running Time:
1h 31min
| Excellent | Very Good | Good | Fair | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64.0% | 21.0% | 8.0% | 5.0% | 2.0% |
“ Very well done! A hard and grim film but a very smart and artful one. Thanks John” Jeanne K
“Beautifully atmospheric. Well paced with excellent tension. I loved it despite it being a tough subject. I will recommend it. Yes I could see the HIGH NOON western cinema connection. Black smoke of train floating in the sky in last shot is point well done.”
“The best film I’ve seen in a long time. Using a structure similar to HIGH NOON. It follows the reaction of a small town as two unknown Jews arrive at the train station. Then the film explains the brutality and guilt of the town. With beautifully tight dialogue.”
“Cinematography and editing was wonderful.”
“Amazing unpeeling of the circumstances, the people and the actions of the people. The father and son become the moral conscience for the townspeople. The cinematography was fabulous, the angles and the point of view shots were works of art.”
“1945 is quite exceptional. It is able to tell an epic story in a relatively simplistic way thereby highlighting the talent and genius of these filmmakers. 1945 is the rare sort of film: it teaches, informs and moves an audience in 90 minutes and will no doubt make them think for much more than 90 minutes. So very well done by a director and writer who were also brilliant in person. I thank them for their appearance and wise words. An instant classic that demands to be studied by all film students. Bravo!”
“The collective conscience of collective guilt.” We must never forget.”
“The guests were so wonderful and added so much to the story and to the film.”
“I can’t remember ever being moved more than the cemetery scene. More moving than an actual burial.”
“I loved that the dialogue was minimal. The drugstore visuals gives you all the information you need about what the town has taken from the Jews, also sets up the contrast of the peasant society that has lifted themselves up to a class that they resented and envied and aren’t naturally born to. Class was so clearly represented by stature of the Jews as apposed to the townspeople, the two Jews walking with incredible calm and dignity behind the wagon. All complicit and all scrambling to find justification or take over.”
If you'd like to know more about the film...
Learn about Ferenc Török's inpiration behind 1945 and how he is the last Jewish writer in Hungary.
http://forward.com/culture/film-tv/386434/the-last-jewish-writer-in-hung...
Lean about Ferenc Török's use of symbolism and his unique production techniques in this interview.
https://stagebuddy.com/film/interview-1945-ferenc-torok-gabor-t-szanto-s...
Read to learn how production came up with the films name 1945 and the many reasons behind the name.
https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2017/11/07/review-christian...
