László Nemes' SUNSET proves an enthrallingly odd follow-up to his Oscar-winner, Son of Saul

Just as his immersive and often very difficult to watch debut film, Son of Saul, thrust us into the Nazi extermination of the Jews, so, too, does László Nemes' second and new film, SUNSET, very nearly bury the viewer in the greed, sleaze, perversity, hypocrisy and violence that led us (along with some other things not covered here) into World War I.

Granted, Son of Saul spent all of its hour and 47 minutes in the middle of that Holocaust. Sunset puts us into WWI only for the final moments of its much lengthier two-hour-and-22-minute running time. The film's ending, however, is sudden and specific enough to make TrustMovies better understand what Mr. Nemes' major point appears to be.

The filmmaker, pictured at right, uses a similar point-of-view technique as in Son of Saul: He places his camera just in front of or right behind, sometimes to the right or left but always quite close to his protagonist. In Sunset's case, this would be a pretty but deadly serious young woman named Írisz Leiter, played with very nearly one single expression that manages to combine questioning and determination in a most unusual manner. The performer here is Juli Jakab, below and on poster, top) an actress/writer of note who was also featured in Son of Saul.

Ms Jakab's intensity, combined with her beauty and dedication to this unusual role helps keep us and the movie on track, despite its length and refusal to offer up a whole lot of typical exposition. Instead, Nemes seems to be saying to any remotely intelligent viewer who is at all familiar with history (That's what? Five per cent of America?), "OK, folk: Take what you know here, then watch, listen, and run with it."  And we do. Or I did, anyway, along with the approximately half of our critical establishment who approved of the movie.

The character Írisz appears at film's beginning, at a very chic and well-connected millinery shop, to which, we slowly learn, she shares a major bond. Yet she seems to know almost as little about her actual past and family than we do. Slowly, the movie lets Íris (and us) in on things.
They're not pretty.

The era -- 1910 and the time preceding WWI -- is aptly captured in sets, costumes and characterization, and eventually some (and only some) of the mystery of who and how is unveiled, as we come face to face (or via hear-say from not always reliables characters) everything from missing relatives to love and murder to sex trafficking, torture and plenty more violence.

Because so much of what we learn is only sidelong and suggested, some viewers may insist on something more substantial. They will be disappointed. For those willing to put the puzzle pieces together, making some connections on their own, Sunset should prove compelling, often quite beautifully filmed, and well-written, -acted and -directed enough to pass muster -- and then some.

What's missing here, for WWI history buffs, are the politics of the time and the people and companies who would profit most from the carnage. We get but a mere taste of any of this; instead we're treated to the uber entitlement of royalty and wealth, the huge disempowerment of women, and the violent reaction of folk who will be termed anarchists by some but who are in truth more like crazy, avenging angels. This offers plenty to chew on, of course, but it's not nearly the big picture.

From Sony Pictures Classics, Sunset, after opening in a number of major cities over the past few weeks, will hit South Florida today, Friday, April 26. In the Miami area, look for it at the AMC Aventura 24 and the Silverspot Downtown Miami; in Fort Lauderdale at the Classic Gateway; in Boca Raton at the Regal Shadowood 16 and Living Room Theaters, and at the Movies of Delray in Delray Beach. Now and over the weeks to come, it will play many more cities. Click here and then click on THEATERS to find the one closest to you.

Art, deliciously animated, in Milorad Krstic's delightful RUBEN BRANDT, COLLECTOR

What a treat for art aficionados is the new movie from Hungarian animator Milorad Krstic! With animation that nods to a plethora of art "greats" (or supposed greats: Warhol's Double Elvis figures into things here), RUBEN BRANDT, COLLECTOR offers up everything from Velásquez to Botticelli, Caravaggio to Renoir, and all looking like they were somehow re-conceived by a certain guy named Picasso.

Animated by Mr. Krstic (shown at left) with the kind of super style you might call cubism squared (or is it squarism cubed?), I can't immediately think of any other animated movie in which I've enjoyed the actual animation more than this one (it makes this year's Oscar winner, Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse look every bit as paltry as it truly is). Downright gorgeous, and just as amusing and fun, this 94-minute movie is an absolute knockout.

And if the movie's content doesn't quite live up to its style, when that style is so far above all else that it's off the chart, are we going to complain?

The story here takes in everything from family, parenting and parentage to art, art theft and performance art and handles it all with sublime wit, charm, subtlety and speed.

And for those who demand action, car chases and even murder, hey -- they're here, too. Along with Haydn and Mozart.

TrustMovies was having so much fun watching this film that he had to give up taking his usual notes and simply stay glued to the screen, for fear of missing something else that was special.

If you know and love fine art -- both the older and newer varieties -- I can't imagine your not heading straight out for the theater nearest you. If you're not an art fan, then at least half the film will be lost on you, but what's left, animation-wise, might still be enough to ring your bell. (Mine rang so often and loudly I'm surprised I haven't gone deaf.) In addition to the many art references, there are plenty of nods to movies and other touchstones of culture, as well.

The film has two protagonists, one a crack psychologist suffering from terrible nightmares who is soon to become an art thief, the other an ace detective with a missing-father issue. Supporting characters include a group of thieves who happen to be patients of our psychologist/thief (he's teaching them how art can save their sanity and life).

That's all you need to know. Now find a theater near you, sit back and let you eyes widen and your mouth drop open. From Sony Pictures Classics, Ruben Brandt, Collector opened on our uber-cultural coasts a couple of weeks back and will hit South Florida (in Fort Lauderdale at The Classic Gateway, and in Boca Raton at the Living Room Theaters and Regal Shadowood) and elsewhere across the country this Friday, March 8. Wherever you live, simply click here and then click on View Theaters at the bottom of the screen to find those nearest you.

1945: Ferenc Török's elegant, bleak view of post-WWII Hungary opens in South Florida

We've seen a lot of Holocaust horror, along with post-Holocaust family films and secrets-and-lies investigations about coming to terms with it all. What we've explored least of, perhaps, is tales of Jewish homes and property taken over by non-Jews after the various round-ups and deportations that took place in Nazi-conquered countries throughout Europe. (We got just a taste of this in Sarah's Key and certain other films.) This loss of property, though certainly not as important as the lives lost, is at the heart of the new Hungarian film 1945.

As co-written (with Gábor T. Szántó) and directed by Ferenc Török, shown at right, 1945 takes place in that particular year, after World War II had ended and, for the first time since the deportation,  Jews -- just two of them, actually: an old man and a young one (shown below) -- arrive by train to this sleepy little Hungarian town. Why have they come, and what do they want?

From the outset, it is clear that, however quietly and subtly the townspeople take this all in, they are, to a man and woman, hugely disturbed by the Jews' appearance. Yet it is also clear that they've been aware that, someday down  the road, this would most likely happen.

As the movie progresses, and the two Jews make their way slowly toward the town, the townspeople -- from the powerful town clerk (Péter Rudolf, below, left) down to the town drunk and some lowly housewives -- fret and finger-point, give in to guilt, hide their ill-gotten valuables and/or try to decide their best course of action.

Russia is already controlling Hungary, though the iron hand of its insane Communist dictator has not yet made its power fully felt, yet it is clear that the citizens are already taking sides. And today happens also to mark the wedding of the town clerk's son (Bence Tasnádi, above, right) to a pretty local girl (Dóra Sztarenki, below, right), of whom the groom's mom (Eszter Nagy-Kálózy, below, left) heartily disapproves -- for reasons that will soon (and then later, too) become clear.

The journey toward town of the Jews, together with all the tsuris this causes the townspeople and even their priest, brings out the rather shocking inhumanity of man toward his fellow men, while setting the stage for a showdown of sorts.

And yet, throughout, 1945 is resolutely un-melodramatic. as it unfolds slowly and gracefully, if consistently fraught with fear and anguish. The elegant cinematography (by Elemér Ragályi) is often stunningly beautiful, with its final image as Holocaust-redolent as you could wish. I admit that the film moves slowly at times, and it sometimes scores its points a bit too obviously, as well.

Overall, though, 1945 proves a strong enough indictment of Hungary (and also of nearly all the Nazi-conquered countries) in its treatment of the Jews to warrant a viewing and the accompanying discussion that will surely arise.

From Menemsha Films and running 91 minutes, the movie opens here in South Florida on February 16 -- in Miami at the AMC Aventura 24, in Fort Lauderdale at The Classic Gateway Theatre, in Tamarac at The Last Picture Show, in Boca Raton at the Living Room Theaters and the Regal Shadowood, and at the Movies of Delray and Movies of Lake Worth.

Personal appearance!  

Moviegoers can meet the director of 1945, Ferenc Török, on

Friday, Feb. 16, at Movies of Delray at 12:30pm, 3:00pm, 5:20pm; 

and at The Classic Gateway Theater, 7:20pm and 9:30pm. 

On Saturday, February 17, he will appear at the Movies of Delray 

at 12:30pm, 3:00pm, and 5:20pm, at the Regal Shadowood at 4:50pm 

and at Tamarac's The Last Picture Show at  7:10pm. 

On Sunday, February 18, look for him at the AMC Aventura 24 at 1:45pm 

and at the Living Room Theaters in Boca Raton at 4:30pm and 6:50pm. 

For more information readers can visit www.menemshafilms.com/1945  

1945: Ferenc Török's elegant, bleak view of post-WWII Hungary opens in So. Florida

We've seen a lot of Holocaust horror, along with post-Holocaust family films and secrets-and-lies investigations about coming to terms with it all. What we've explored least of, perhaps, is tales of Jewish homes and property taken over by non-Jews after the various round-ups and deportations that took place in Nazi-conquered countries throughout Europe. (We got just a taste of this in Sarah's Key and certain other films.) This loss of property, though certainly not as important as the lives lost, is at the heart of the new Hungarian film 1945.

As co-written (with Gábor T. Szántó) and directed by Ferenc Török, shown at right, 1945 takes place in that particular year, after World War II had ended and, for the first time since the deportation,  Jews -- just two of them, actually: an old man and a young one (shown below) -- arrive by train to this sleepy little Hungarian town. Why have they come, and what do they want?

From the outset, it is clear that, however quietly and subtly the townspeople take this all in, they are, to a man and woman, hugely disturbed by the Jews' appearance. Yet it is also clear that they've been aware that, someday down  the road, this would most likely happen.

As the movie progresses, and the two Jews make their way slowly toward the town, the townspeople -- from the powerful town clerk (Péter Rudolf, below, left) down to the town drunk and some lowly housewives -- fret and finger-point, give in to guilt, hide their ill-gotten valuables and/or try to decide their best course of action.

Russia is already controlling Hungary, though the iron hand of its insane Communist dictator has not yet made its power fully felt, yet it is clear that the citizens are already taking sides. And today happens also to mark the wedding of the town clerk's son (Bence Tasnádi, above, right) to a pretty local girl (Dóra Sztarenki, below, right), of whom the groom's mom (Eszter Nagy-Kálózy, below, left) heartily disapproves -- for reasons that will soon (and then later, too) become clear.

The journey toward town of the Jews, together with all the tsuris this causes the townspeople and even their priest, brings out the rather shocking inhumanity of man toward his fellow men, while setting the stage for a showdown of sorts.

And yet, throughout, 1945 is resolutely un-melodramatic. as it unfolds slowly and gracefully, if consistently fraught with fear and anguish. The elegant cinematography (by Elemér Ragályi) is often stunningly beautiful, with its final image as Holocaust-redolent as you could wish. I admit that the film moves slowly at times, and it sometimes scores its points a bit too obviously, as well.

Overall, though, 1945 proves a strong enough indictment of Hungary (and also of nearly all the Nazi-conquered countries) in its treatment of the Jews to warrant a viewing and the accompanying discussion that will surely arise.

From Menemsha Films and running 91 minutes, the movie opens here in South Florida on February 16 -- in Miami at the AMC Aventura 24, in Fort Lauderdale at The Classic Gateway Theatre, in Tamarac at The Last Picture Show, in Boca Raton at the Living Room Theaters and the Regal Shadowood, and at the Movies of Delray and Movies of Lake Worth.

Personal appearance!  

Moviegoers can meet the director of 1945, Ferenc Török, on

Friday, Feb. 16, at Movies of Delray at 12:30pm, 3:00pm, 5:20pm; 

and at The Classic Gateway Theater, 7:20pm and 9:30pm. 

On Saturday, February 17, he will appear at the Movies of Delray 

at 12:30pm, 3:00pm, and 5:20pm, at the Regal Shadowood at 4:50pm 

and at Tamarac's The Last Picture Show at  7:10pm. 

On Sunday, February 18, look for him at the AMC Aventura 24 at 1:45pm 

and at the Living Room Theaters in Boca Raton at 4:30pm and 6:50pm. 

For more information readers can visit www.menemshafilms.com/1945