Fresh Air

Colour, 35 mm
Hungary, 2006, 109 min
Section: Variety Critics´ Choice

Synopsis

A deep breath of Kaurismakian deadpan, Fresh Air measures the deceptively wide emotional chasm between a neat-freak workaholic who cleans subway toilets and her quietly defiant daughter with ambitions to design clothing who’s more like her than either of them can imagine. First seen gently fending off a suitor at the Lost and Found Hearts singles gathering, Viola (Julia Nyako) lives quietly with daughter Angela (Izabella Hegyi) in a tidy flat. Leisurely yet precise narrative follows Angela’s ambitions to become a fashion designer with the help of pal Martina (Anita Turoczi). The interest of helmer Agnes Kocsis and co-scripter Andrea Roberti is so clearly on the eccentric rituals of mother and daughter that the film itself becomes as absorbing as their regimented lives.