46/29

Most of the actors in it are either the writer-director, friends, students or teachers of Gábor Reisz

Line of Events

Abel is a high school student who struggles to concentrate on his final exams, while being hopelessly in love with his best friend Janka. Due to the film’s subject matter, the Hungarian government did not grant funding for the film, so it had a small budget and crew.

The basic premise is a bit far-fetched, which detracts from the story

There was a lot of hype around this film last year, which is not surprising, given the fact that not many filmmakers these days tackle current politics in Hungary. I understand that the creators wanted to show how a minor thing can blow up in the current political climate, but still, it makes the whole story seem a bit insignificant.

Also, while there are some funny and satirical moments, overall it is neither a comedy nor a drama

You can clearly feel that the creators wanted to avoid vilifying either side (right-wing conservatives or left-wing liberals), but as a result of this, the film seems too cautious. That said, there are some effective scenes that show how deep the political divisions in the country are now.

I also liked the ambitious character of the right-wing journalist, although her portrayal could have been more complex

Although the main character very effectively conveys how uncomfortable adolescence can be for many people, this character is too boring to be remotely memorable. In this sense, this film reminded me of Ferenc Török’s Moszkva tér, also with unmemorable teenage characters.

The most complex character in the film is probably the right-wing father, and I liked István Znamenák’s performance

It is interesting that in the early 1980s, this actor played the teenage protagonist in the Hungarian cult film Time Stands Still (Megáll az ido), a film with many memorable teenage characters.