1945

Name: 1945
Genre: Drama
Released: November 1, 2017
Duration: 91 min
Rating: 73
Cast: Ági Szirtes, Bence Tasnádi, Dóra Sztarenki, Eszter Nagy-Kálózy, István Znamenák

2017

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Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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7.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Menemsha Films | Release Date: November 1, 2017 | Not Rated

Starring: Ági Szirtes, Bence Tasnádi, Dóra Sztarenki, Eszter Nagy-Kálózy, István Znamenák, Iván Angelus, Iván Angelusz, József Szarvas, Marcell Nagy, Péter Rudolf, Tamás Szabó Kimmel

Summary: On a summer day in 1945, an Orthodox man and his grown son return to a village in Hungary while the villagers prepare for the wedding of the town clerk's son. The townspeople – suspicious, remorseful, fearful, and cunning – expect the worst and behave accordingly. The town clerk fears the men may be heirs of the village's deported Jews andOn a summer day in 1945, an Orthodox man and his grown son return to a village in Hungary while the villagers prepare for the wedding of the town clerk's son. The townspeople – suspicious, remorseful, fearful, and cunning – expect the worst and behave accordingly. The town clerk fears the men may be heirs of the village's deported Jews and expects them to demand their illegally acquired property back. [Menemsha Films]… Expand

Director: Ferenc Török

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 91 min

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Critic Reviews

Peter Rainer

Dec 9, 2017

It’s a good bet that the director had “High Noon” in mind when he made this film, but the comparison ends there. As a compact study of wartime guilt, the film has the look and feel of a waking nightmare. Read full review

Kenneth Turan

Nov 22, 2017

Simple, powerful, made with conviction and skill, 1945 proceeds as inexorably as Sámuel and his son on their long walk into town. It's a potent messenger about a time that is gone but whose issues and difficulties are not even close to being past. Read full review

Alissa Simon

Nov 1, 2017

The gripping period drama offers a fresh, intelligent cinematic approach to a difficult topic. Read full review

Gary Thompson

Apr 4, 2018

Director Ferenc Török departs from the High Noon arc, and finds a way to end the movie with an invocation of violence, rather than an eruption of it. His final image, gruesome and evocative, is unforgettable. Read full review

David Lewis

Apr 18, 2018

Torok juggles plenty of characters and themes — guilt, greed, Russian meddling, the Holocaust, justice — but he always remains firmly in control of his story. Every frame is meticulously crafted. Read full review

Ben Kenigsberg

Oct 31, 2017

Absorbing and finely wrought, 1945 is not perfect. Read full review

Michael O'Sullivan

Apr 3, 2018

There’s an air of “High Noon” to Török’s drama, which features an intrusive sound design, including Tibor Szemzö’s jarringly contemporary score and sound effects that include the ringing of a clock tower, buzzing flies, rumbling thunder and noisy birds — which transition from pleasant tweets to ominous caws of crows by the climax. Read full review

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KeithDow

Dec 16, 2017

Films like 'Schindler's List' and 'The Pianist' dutifully memorialize the myriad horrors that occurred on European lands during the Second World War. But often enough, there is much less consideration given towards the continued pain and suffering of those who were most directly victimizedFilms like 'Schindler's List' and 'The Pianist' dutifully memorialize the myriad horrors that occurred on European lands during the Second World War. But often enough, there is much less consideration given towards the continued pain and suffering of those who were most directly victimized by the war immediately following May 8th, 1945--otherwise known as V-E Day.

'1945,' a subtitled Hungarian film shot in black-and-white, brings those stark realities to life. Six million Jews were murdered as a result of the Holocaust. Millions more were displaced. Jewish-owned land was appropriated, homes were confiscated, and businesses were seized. So what happened when the survivors--and rightful owners of all that property--finally returned? '1945' poses the question, then compellingly brings that scenario to life via a small Hungarian village that is forced to face the lingering sins of its recent past. The storyline is raw, stripped down, and bleak, much like the atmosphere at the time. It's got Hitchcockian pacing to it, in which a spark turns into a flame that soon bursts into a wildfire. And when the end credits finally roll, the burdensome weight of a guilty conscious settles over the town, leaving audience members with a newfound perspective on the truly awful reverberations of war.… Expand

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TVJerry

Dec 12, 2017

Making this movie in black and white adds to the period feel (and the title helps). It's set in a Hungarian village where the town clerk's son is about to get married. When 2 Orthodox Jews show up, it causes all manner of suspicion and paranoia. The deliberate pace, static action andMaking this movie in black and white adds to the period feel (and the title helps). It's set in a Hungarian village where the town clerk's son is about to get married. When 2 Orthodox Jews show up, it causes all manner of suspicion and paranoia. The deliberate pace, static action and underplayed emotions are all hallmarks of a "foreign" film and this one fits the bill. The atmospheric (and somewhat obnoxious) soundtrack is the only hint of a modern approach. While it's an interesting glimpse into this world and the simple people who live there, it's minimal approach is quietly compelling…if you're into this type of cinema. In Hungarian with subtitles.… Expand

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GreatMartin

Feb 21, 2018

A father (Ivan Angelus) and son (Marcell Nagy), Jews, dressed in black jackets and trousers, black hats and white shirts with the son also wearing a black tie get off a train in a small Hungary town. With them are 2 heavy crates which might hold perfumes and cosmetics or worse. Hiring a manA father (Ivan Angelus) and son (Marcell Nagy), Jews, dressed in black jackets and trousers, black hats and white shirts with the son also wearing a black tie get off a train in a small Hungary town. With them are 2 heavy crates which might hold perfumes and cosmetics or worse. Hiring a man with a horse and flatbed to carry the crates they walk slowly along it going into town, giving the trainmaster (Istvan Znamenak) time enough to announce “Jew have arrived” and the word is spread with whispers and speculation why they have come back.

Directed by Ferenc Torok, who also wrote the screenplay with Gabor T. Szanto, we meet the villagers, many who have something to fear from the Jews and what they helped do to them.

We meet Istvan Szentes, owner of a prosperous drugstore, shaving in the morning getting ready for the marriage of his son, Bence Tasnadi, to Dora Sztarenki, who at one time was engaged to Tamas Szabo Kimmel who had gone off to war to come back to find out that she preferred the security that Tasnadi can offer but still will have sex with Kimmel. Szentes’s wife, Eszter Nagy-Kalozy, is addicted to drugs and seems the most afraid of what the Jews can do to her and her life.

In a black and white film running 91 minutes Angelus and Nagy say very little, and except for walking, do very little, but their presence disturbs everyone in the town, including the town drunk Jozsef Szarvas and the town clerk Peter Rudolf.

“1945” is a different, sort of ‘strange’ film, yet at heart seems like an old Western though no guns and no good guys in white hats.

I usually complain about films being too long but “1945” could have used another 10-15 minutes for explanations even though it still seemed to move slow at times.… Expand

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