Lost Times

Colour, 35 mm
Hungary, 2009, 90 min
IP – International premiere
Section: East of the West - Films in Competition

Synopsis

1997. Iván is a young car mechanic living in a God-forsaken village in eastern Hungary. He looks after his mentally disabled sister Eszter and earns extra money smuggling diesel oil across the border from Ukraine. The siblings’ coexistence is disrupted one day by a tragic event – Eszter is raped. A police investigation gets under way; in the meantime, Iván starts up a relationship with young Ilus, who has just finished school and is planning on going to university. Iván plainly wants to leave his old life behind him, but will he be able to fulfil this ambition? The wonderful, almost virginal natural landscape provides a stark contrast to the frustrating and somewhat stereotypical life in the village. The mesmerizing images from cameraman Máté Herbai are enhanced by the beguiling score from composer and cellist Albert Márkos. Debuting director Áron Mátyássy also wrote the screenplay for the film.

About the director

Áron Mátyássy (b. 1978, Budapest) studied film science at Eötvös Lóránd University and completed his studies in film direction under Ferenc Grunwalsky at the Hungarian Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest (2005). He made several short films, one of which, Minus (2006), won an award for Most Promising Talent at the Budapest Short Film Festival in 2007. His feature film debut, Lost Times (2009), won the main prize at this year’s Hungarian Film Week. The film also won Best Original Music and the Student Jury Award.