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(More customer reviews)Recently I saw Miklos Jancso's "Electra My Love". It was a movie that dealt with Communism in Hungary but did it in an experimental way. He used Greek tragedy and music. As I watched that movie I kept thinking about Karoly Makk's film "Love (Szerelem)" which also shows life under communism but with a more traditional narrative. And it is also more poetic.
Lili Darvas plays an elderly bed-ridden woman who gets frequent visits from her daughter-in-law, Luca (Mari Torocsik, who was also in "Electra My Love"). The man in their life, Janos, Luca's husband and the old woman's son, is in prison for political activities he may or may not have been involved in. The mother doesn't know this is. Luca has been writing to her pretending to be her son. Supposedly the son is off in California where he is making a movie.
Now you may ask how does this show Hungary's rule under communism? It does this through the Janos character, who may have been wrongly imprisoned. And through the Luca character who struggles to get by, since she is all by herself and must take care of her mother-in-law.
But "Love" is about more than this. It is about age. Notice the film is mostly about the mother and daughter-in-law, who represent two different era's. It is about remembering the past and the hope that the future will be better.
Karoly Makk may not be very well known to audience's outside of Hungary. Come to think of it, he may not even be remembered by Hungarians either. As far as I know he has only directed two film of lasting importance. This film and "Cat's Play". He is probably best known to film buff's with an interest in international cinema and to older Hungarians.
It should also be of note to point out the film brought Makk international fame. The film was nominated for several awards at the Cannes film festival, including the Golden Palm and was named one of the best films of the year by the New York Times.
Bottom-line: Sadly largely forgotten film that may be director Karoly Makk's best film. A sad, quite meditation on life under communism and the enduring spirit of the human condition.
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