Highlighting a new spirit
VASANTHI SANKARANARAYANAN
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The Hungarian Festival, held from March 19-23 in Delhi, dealt with protest, survival and identity.
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Being Julia
Hungarian Cinema of the 21st century reflects a new spirit, which revisits the past fearlessly and records the atrocities of two consecutive fascist dominations of the country (by Nazi Germany and by Communist USSR) and the lonely protests of courageous and persevering individuals who succeeded in surviving the aftermath.
Apart from this, it also reflects a new kind of women's liberation, their faith in their identity and ability to take charge of their lives.
These are the two traits exhibited in the films, which were screened by Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation jointly with the Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre, New Delhi. The Hungarian Film Festival was held from March 19 to 23, as part of the Hungarian Cultural Week celebrations.
While "Unburied Man" related the events of 1956, the national revolution of Hungary led by Imre Nagy and the temporary overthrow of the Soviet domination, "Fateless" showed the cruel injustices perpetrated by Nazi Germany against Jews.
Romance and hardship
"Being Julia," "Stop Mom Theresa" and "Glamour" portray women who are initially feminine and crave to be loved by an ideal romantic hero. They do make their quest to find out this "one ideal man" in a very earnest way.The one who finds him and retains him is a German girl (in "Glamour"). She marries a Hungarian man, Karoly Eperje, a Jew who converts to Christianity to avoid persecution.
The family suffers inevitable hardships of war and the subsequent Stalinist oppression. But they stick together and survive adversities. Till her death, she has the unswerving love and respect of her husband and son.
But the other two heroines, Julia who is a theatre actress and Kata who is an impulsive young woman, are both disillusioned by their romantic encounters. How both of them face their own romantic follies and emerge victorious is heartening to watch.
All the films reflect the protest and human desire to create individualistic and strong identities.
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