| CANNES 2008 |
SYNOPSIS
Andor, a gentle young man, is the obedient son who still lives
with his eccentric mother Rebeka, a once celebrated actress.
She has not left her apartment since her career started to fail,
compounding her possess-iveness for her son. Every day they
walk through their desolate co-dependent love-hate relationship
that chains them to each other. The mother is connected to life by
her successful daughter, who lives abroad and wants nothing to
do with her mother. It seems that Andor has no desire or will to
break free of his semi-catatonic life until sensual Eszter makes
an appearance, at which point he begins to dream of a life
beyond the walls. Their erotic relationship opens Andor’s
repressed sexual appetite that goes beyond Eszter and seems to
awaken childhood memories of intimate times with his mother.
The characters become locked within the cages of their own
madness. The question now is whether they will be able to find
a way out.
Directors note and concept
Distinctive of Bartis’s handling of time is the manner in which he
bids his characters to speak: sometimes with the compactness
of a ballad, almost mysteriously, other times allowing them to
chatter almost irresponsibly. But in this chatter, like a Chinese
box, he reveals yet another layer of the story. The film would follow
this framework of time.In contrast to the novel, the film’s locations
could be set in a smaller space. The proportions of “the imagined
and the visible” alter: the story might unfold among spaces more
stifling in atmosphere, in locations beyond (or this side of) reality.
Stepping out of closed and remote interiors into the magical
locations of the novel (theater, train, street, tavern, hospital,
cemetery, etc.) new faces enhance the story.
- Róbert Alföldi
Andor, a gentle young man, is the obedient son who still lives
with his eccentric mother Rebeka, a once celebrated actress.
She has not left her apartment since her career started to fail,
compounding her possess-iveness for her son. Every day they
walk through their desolate co-dependent love-hate relationship
that chains them to each other. The mother is connected to life by
her successful daughter, who lives abroad and wants nothing to
do with her mother. It seems that Andor has no desire or will to
break free of his semi-catatonic life until sensual Eszter makes
an appearance, at which point he begins to dream of a life
beyond the walls. Their erotic relationship opens Andor’s
repressed sexual appetite that goes beyond Eszter and seems to
awaken childhood memories of intimate times with his mother.
The characters become locked within the cages of their own
madness. The question now is whether they will be able to find
a way out.
Directors note and concept
Distinctive of Bartis’s handling of time is the manner in which he
bids his characters to speak: sometimes with the compactness
of a ballad, almost mysteriously, other times allowing them to
chatter almost irresponsibly. But in this chatter, like a Chinese
box, he reveals yet another layer of the story. The film would follow
this framework of time.In contrast to the novel, the film’s locations
could be set in a smaller space. The proportions of “the imagined
and the visible” alter: the story might unfold among spaces more
stifling in atmosphere, in locations beyond (or this side of) reality.
Stepping out of closed and remote interiors into the magical
locations of the novel (theater, train, street, tavern, hospital,
cemetery, etc.) new faces enhance the story.
- Róbert Alföldi
T R A N Q U I L I T Y Between a mother and a son... A story of sexual repression Director: Róbert Alföldi Screenplay: László Garaczi, Róbert Alföldi Cast: Dorottya Udvaros, Zalán Makranczi Dorka Gryllus, Judit Hernádi Annamária Láng, Ákos Kőszegi Ági Margitai, László Gálffi Zoltán Seress, Mari Nagy Kati Lázár, Dénes Ujlaki Photography: Tamás Babos Editor: Péter Politzer Music: Niccolo Paganini Production company: Unio Film Producer: István Bodzsár Hungary - Drama - 2008 - 115' - Hungarian |