Love (1971)

The wife of a political prisoner tends to her mother-in-law and keeps from the old woman the truth about her son, whom she believes is in New York making a film.

Director:

Károly Makk

Writers:

Péter Bacsó, Tibor Déry (novel)

Stars:

Lili Darvas, Mari Töröcsik, Iván Darvas

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lili Darvas	...	Az öregasszony
Mari Töröcsik	...	Luca
Iván Darvas	...	János
Erzsi Orsolya	...	Irén
László Mensáros	...	Az orvos
Tibor Bitskey	...	Feri (as Bitskei Tibor)
András Ambrus	...	Börtönõr
József Almási	...	Tanár
Zoltán Bán	...	Borbély
Éva Bányai	...	Feriék szolgálója
Ágnes Dávid	...	Feriék szolgálója
Mária Garamszegi	...	Feriék szolgálója
Alíz Halda	...	Tanárnõ
Magda Horváth	...	Kissné
Nóra Káldi	...	Az öregasszony fiatalon (as Káldy Nóra)

Storyline

Luca regularly visits her bedridden mother-in-law. Luca's husband, János, has been arrested on a trumped up political charge, and Luca does not know if he is still alive. Luca hides this from his mother by making up letters purporting to be from János who is directing a big film in New York. Luca discovers that János is alive, and is dismissed from her teaching job because of her husband. The dying mother anxiously awaits the return of her son from New York.

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Plot Keywords:

looking at oneself in a mirror | reference to franklin d. roosevelt | elderly woman | loneliness | political prisoner | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The plot is very similar to the story by Julio Cortázar "Health of the Sick".

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Connections

Featured in Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen (2012)

User Reviews

Szerelem : One of the greatest films ever made in the history of world cinema.

"Szerelem"/'Love" is considered one of the best films ever made in the history of Hungarian cinema.Its theme as well as acting performances of its main actors are so captivating that it can easily be included in the list of greatest films ever made in the history of world cinema.There are remarkable acting performances by Lili Darvas,Mari Töröcsik and Iván Darvas.However,what makes Szerelem a very special film is its ability to capitalize on a bunch of lies which are woven in its scheme of narrative elements.The whole idea of director Karoly Makk and his screen writer Peter Bacso is to suggest how far can one go with lies.One has to be genuinely artistic for having one's lies accepted by others.They chose to take inspiration from a short story by famous Hungarian writer Tibor Déry who saw worst days under communist rule when ordinary people were imprisoned without the knowledge of their relatives about their well being.This film's title love has multiple connotations.Hence,it is for viewers to make their own judgments whether they take it as a love of a mother for her son who is not present in her midst or the love of a wife for her husband who is imprisoned.

Details

Country:

Hungary

Language:

Hungarian German

Release Date:

22 March 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Love

Filming Locations:

Hungary

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hungarofilm, Mafilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.76 : 1