East of the West - Competition 2012 / A vizsga / Hungary 2011
A year after the 1956 uprising, Hungary is still in the grip of fear. Young Agent Jung undergoes a test of loyalty but he also has trials in his personal life. Will he stand the test? The movie, which hovers somewhere between a psychological story and a spy piece, successfully demonstrates that even a modestly dramatic plot can bring out strong emotions.
The revolutionary push of autumn 1956 has been stifled and Hungary is enveloped in an atmosphere of fear and snooping. And so young Agent Jung, outwardly posing as a private teacher, undergoes a test of loyalty administered by his superior and friend Markó. Living and working in an environment where the spies themselves are spied upon demands a fair amount of vigilance and an ability to make quick judgments, which contributes not only to the sustained tension but also to the dynamics of an otherwise small-scale film. At first glance, this classic story of a tragic phase in Hungarian history fluctuates between a generic mix, a personal drama, and a documentary of period conditions. These latter are portrayed with an emphasis on secret police practices without, of course, overlooking the intimate dimension that cannot be separated from even the most abstruse totalitarian practices. And so colleagues and friends stand against one another, and one of these two relationships will have to give way. Which will it be? And why can’t things be like they were before?
89 min / Color, DCP
International premiere
Director Péter Bergendy
/ Screenplay Norbert Köbli
/ Dir. of Photography Zsolt Tóth
/ Music Gergely Parűdy
/ Editor István Király
/ Producer István Bodzsár
/ Production UNIO FILM Ltd
/ Cast János Kulka, Zsolt Nagy, Gabriella Hámori, Péter Scherer
/ Contact National Film Institute Hungary
Péter Bergendy (b. 1964, Budapest) graduated in psychology from ELTE University in Budapest, then worked and published in the field. In his books he touches on film psychology. His artistic career began in Hungarian television in 1984, he was later employed by the Hungarian Film Institute, and in 1991–2002 he ran Hungary’s variation on the widely read magazine Cinema. He is also the cofounder of Stáb FilmFactory productions, which creates commercials, music videos, and children’s TV programs. He took a character role in Nimród Antal’s successful movie Control (Kontroll, 2003). In 2004 he debuted as a director with the fanciful comedy Stop Mom Theresa! (Állítsátok meg Terézanyut!). The Exam is his second feature.
National Film Institute Hungary
Róna utca 174., 1145, Budapest
Hungary
Phone: +36 30 4414465, +36 146 113 20
Katalin Vajda
Film Institution Rep.
Péter Bergendy
Film Director
János Kulka
Actor
Norbert Köbli
Screenwriter
István Bodzsár
Producer
Csaba Papp
Film Institution Rep., PR & Marketing
Gabriella Hamori
Actress
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