SLIFF 2017 Review – 1945

1945 will screen at Plaza Frontenac Cinema (Lindbergh Blvd. and Clayton Rd, Frontenac, MO 63131) as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival. Showings are Sunday, Nov. 5 at 5pm (purchase tickets HERE) and Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 4:30pm (purchase tickets HERE).

1945 is a haunting Hungarian drama from director Ferenc Torok that takes place in a small Hungarian village shortly after the end of World War II. It is a tale of guilt and greed, revealing what was done to the Jewish population by ordinary citizens during the war.

The arrival of two men dressed in black, who appear to be Jewish, grips this small rural town with fear and guilt. The Town Clerk, Istvan Szentes (Peter Rudolf), a prosperous politician who seems more like the town’s mayor, is preparing for his son Arpad’s (Bence Tasnadi) wedding that afternoon. But this festive occasion is disrupted when he gets word from the train station master (Istvan Znamenak) about the arrival of the two men, one old (Ivan Angelus) and one young (Marcell Nagy), who have arrived with two large boxes labeled perfumes and cosmetics. The name of the older man, Herman Samuel, does not match any of the town’s Jewish former residents and no one recognizes the newcomers. Nonetheless, the news shocks the politician into a panicked frenzy of guilty activity. Other villagers are alarmed too, gripped with either fear, guilt or overwhelming remorse. Everyone is asking, will more Jews arrive?

Director Torok’s film is based on the lauded short story “Homecoming” by Gabor T. Szanto. But the story reflects what happened in many places during the war, spotlighting the role human greed played in what happened to Jewish families throughout Nazi-occupied Europe. Torok treats this story like a mystery, slowly uncovering the rottenness beneath the village’s quaint rustic veneer. The plot reveals the treachery and collusion among these villagers, particularly the Town Clerk, that exploited the plight of the Jews for their own material gain during the war, an ugly tale that was repeated throughout Hungary, and even Europe. As the plot slowly reveals, these townspeople did more than simply stand by as their Jewish neighbors were deported to concentration camps.

Tension is high in this suspenseful and beautifully photographed black-and-white drama. Director Torok handles the story brilliantly, teasing us as he reveals horrifying tidbits of information. The gorgeous black-and-white imagery captures just the right for the tone of this period tale, and helps boost its feeling of foreboding.

The two men at the center of this frenzy, say nothing, except to arrange transport of the two boxes to town. Wary of what may happen, the draftsman hauling the boxes by his horse-drawn cart asks for payment in advance. The old man shoots him a sad look but says nothing as he pays.

As the two strangers walk behind the cart on its slow progress towards the town, word of their arrival spreads through the village, even upending preparations under way for the big wedding and feast to follow. Everyone seems worried, and questions abound. Who are these men?Are they the heirs? Did they purchase the property from the Jews who were deported? Most importantly, will the Jews want to take their property back?

While the Town Clerk obsesses about the past, an uncertain future looms unnoticed. The town is occupied by the Russian army but the Town Clerk seems only mildly interested in the upcoming election, one which will sweep the communists into power and do more to transform the village’s comfortable traditional life.

Although the clerk seems to have profited the most, everyone in town seems to bear some guilt in these evil deeds. Some are defiant in their claims to stolen property but other are wracked with remorse over the evil done. None does anything to right the wrongs done. Even the priest (Bela Gados) seems willing to ignore the past.

The acting is excellent, with actors peeling back the layers of complex relationships built on evil deeds, which begin to crumble as facts and truth are forced to the surface. Peter Rudolf particularly good as the oily, bullying Town Clerk, as is Jozsef Szarvas as his hard-drinking lackey, who is crushed by his regrets. Agi Szirtes also is good as his wife, seized with fear she will lost the house she lives in, still surrounded by the possessions of its Jewish former owner. But perhaps the most striking, moving performance is Ivan Angelus as the older Jewish man, in which he conveys volumes of meaning and feeling without a single word.

Director Tobok plays a cat-and-mouse game with the audience, keeping us off-balance until the end. 1945 is a brilliantly made film, and powerful, moving reminder of the evil that can take place under cover of wartime and the power of greed.