Apa (Father)
Directed by Istvan Szabo
Written by Istvan Szabo
1966/Hungary
MAFILM3 Jatekfilmstudio
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] [on critics who claim that a knowledge of Hungarian history is necessary to understand his films] I’m talking universally about how our subconscious apprehension of our history guides and controls us. It runs us without our knowledge necessarily. You don’t need Hungarian history to explain it. – Istvan Szabo[/box]
Wry tragi-comedy parallels one boy’s history and that of Hungary.
Tako Bence’s doctor father died in 1945 when he was just six. Tako spends the next twenty years fantasizing about his father’s heroic role in the war. By the time he is 25 he doesn’t know which of his memories are real. His relationship with a Jewish girl helps him finally come of age.
I don’t have a lot to say about this movie but I did really enjoy it. I love the way Eastern Cinema laughs through the tears during this period.
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