Return to Epipó tries to tell two stories at once. There is the story of Judit, who was traumatised by the summer camp she was sent to in her early childhood, and now tries to come to terms with that experience. This is the stronger of the two storylines. You can feel her frustration, how she still cannot forgive for those, who were close to her, and did not realise how traumatising the whole camp experience was to her. And then there is the story of a narcissistic teacher who had the unique ability to charm everyone around him, who designed the whole camp, and then terribly abused the trust he gained through his charming manoeuvres. Since this is a documentary, most of the audience is probably a lot more interested in this second story, but unfortunately this line is somewhat weak. This is partially due to the teacher himself, who even now, three decades after the camp was closed, is more interested in deceit and manipulation than giving open answers. But the director herself cannot seem to fully get a grasp on things as her documentary unfolds; it never becomes clear, for example, how strongly the teacher's narcissistic and manipulative personality and the director's discomforting camp experience are connected.
Either way, Return to Epipó is a good watch, it is just that I felt that I did not receive enough help to conceive an answer to some of my questions.
Either way, Return to Epipó is a good watch, it is just that I felt that I did not receive enough help to conceive an answer to some of my questions.