Video Blues tells the story of a woman, Judit, torn between two brothers. She is married to the stolid and rather dull Janos, with whom she has a young son, Adam. Gabor, Janos's brother, is a reckless playboy who has been traveling the world. One day he sends them a video letter, with snippets of his travels - it is the first his family has heard from him for seven years. On closer inspection of the tape, Janos notices a momentary glitch - a shot of his own backyard in the intervening years. What ensues is a thriller of rising tensions: what has Judit been up to? has she secretly been seeing Gabor behind Janos's back? whose child is Adam really? Sopsits masterfully ratchets up the mood in this sadly overlooked film. At the philosophical heart of Video Blues lies the nature of memory, as each brother attempts to rewrite (or is that rerecord?) both the past and present of their relationships with Judit, their family, and each other.
The complaints that many viewers have about European or art-house film do not apply to Video Blues. This film has plenty of deep ideas, but it frames them within an emotionally haunting thriller. The acting is great, the story engaging, and it will leave the viewer, as voyeur, feeling strangely disturbed by the power of the camera.
I should also mention that Judit Danyi is radiantly beautiful in this film - it is not hard to see why both brothers pursue her.
The complaints that many viewers have about European or art-house film do not apply to Video Blues. This film has plenty of deep ideas, but it frames them within an emotionally haunting thriller. The acting is great, the story engaging, and it will leave the viewer, as voyeur, feeling strangely disturbed by the power of the camera.
I should also mention that Judit Danyi is radiantly beautiful in this film - it is not hard to see why both brothers pursue her.
