Friday, June 05, 2009

Bizalom

Luottamus / Förtroende. HU 1979. PC: Objektiv Filmstudio. D+SC: István Szabó. DP: Lajos Koltai. CAST: Ildikó Bánsági (Kata), Péter Andorai (Janos). 117 min. A Filmunio print with English subtitles. Viewed at Cinema Orion, 5 June 2009. - A worn print, turned red, shortened by 10 min and badly battered in previous venues. - Revisited: an intensive chamber piece that I had previously seen only on tv, very tired. - One of Szabós best films, still strong, it has stood the test of time well. - Life during the final period of the Nazi occupation in Budapest, when the terror and the persecution were at their worst. This is, however, not a Holocaust story. It's the personal story of the wife of a resistance fighter, who has to lead a double life during the final year of the Nazi occupation. She has to assume a false identity, living in isolation in a room with a fake husband, also a Resistance fighter. - It is about the constant fear of the small detail giving one away. - Elliptic montage. - Ildikó Bánsági has the same kind of nobility in her demeanour as Ingrid Bergman. - Life under extreme pressure. "It does not matter where you are as long as you are at ease with yourself". - This is also an erotic film: sex with the perfect stranger. The sex scenes belong to the best in the history of the cinema, thanks to Ildikó Bánsági's delicate candour. - After the liberation the terror and the persecution start again under a different banner.

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