Laurin (1989)

Children have been disappearing under mysterious circumstances in a 19th century German village. A young girl soon becomes haunted by disturbing visions of the missing kids.

Director:

Robert Sigl

Writers:

Ádám Rozgonyi (screenplay collaboration) (as Adam Rozgonyi), Robert Sigl

Stars:

Dóra Szinetár, Brigitte Karner, Károly Eperjes

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dóra Szinetár	...	Laurin (as Dora Szinetar)
Brigitte Karner	...	Flora Andersen
Károly Eperjes	...	Van Rees (as Karoly Eperjes)
Hédi Temessy	...	Olga (as Hedi Temessy)
Barnabás Tóth	...	Stefan Berghaus (as Barnabas Toth)
Kati Sir	...	Frau Greta Berghaus (as Katalin Sir)
Endre Kátay	...	Pastor Van Rees (as Endre Katay)
János Derzsi	...	Arne (as Janos Derzsi)
Zoltán Gera	...	Herr Engels (as Zoltan Gera)
Ildikó Hámori	...	Frau Johansson (as Ildiko Hamori)
Zsolt Szerenyi	...	Zigeunerjunge
Ottilia Marschek	...	Zwillingsschwester
Gabriella Marschek	...	Zwillingsschwester
Attila Hajdu	...	Enno
Gábor Németh	...	Nikolas (as Gabor Nemeth)

Storyline

A small port at the turn of last century, embedded in a romantic river landscape with dense woods and a large castle ruin on a hill. Laurin, a pretty girl aged nine, lives together with her young mother Flora, her father Arne and her somewhat peculiar grandmother, Olga, in a remote, ivy-clad cottage in the middle of the forest. Laurin's father is a sailor and he often has to leave his family back for more than a couple of months. One evening Flora takes her husband for the long way down to the harbour. On her way back through night and storm she dies under mysterious circumstances, crashing through the rotten railing of a long, wooden bridge and drowning in the icy water of the river. Flora's death appears like a horrible accident, yet her little daughter feels that something evil is concealed in the village community. Two years later, Laurin's father has gone off to sea again and the girl stays alone with her grandmother. It is now, that Van Rees, the parson's son, returns from the ...

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Taglines:

Dort wo kein Tod mehr ist sehen wir uns wieder.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Cine International [distributor] Kinowelt International Distribution

Country:

West Germany Hungary

Language:

German English

Release Date:

30 November 1989 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Laurin

Filming Locations:

Hollokö, Hungary

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dialóg Filmstúdió, Salinas Filmproduktion, Südwestfunk (SWF)

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in School's Out (1999)

User Reviews

A Haunting, surreal masterpiece!

Laurin is quite simply an obscure masterpiece of surrealism. Beautifully filmed and extremely atmospheric throughout. The story takes place at the turn of the 20th century, and even though the film is shot in color...it appears as though it could have really been filmed back then! The brilliant music score is also a high point. It's very haunting and otherworldly, and works absolutely perfectly in the film. To call Laurin anything less than thought provoking would be a grave understatement. It's one movie that will haunt your mind long after it ends. To classify Laurin into any one genre is next to impossible. The young actress who plays Laurin is extraordinarily beautiful and quite talented. Whatever happened to her?!?

This film is obviously rarely seen or heard of and that's a real shame. It was one of the few times where I actually bought a German DVD import (released by e.m.s.) without ever previously viewing the movie before. I don't regret it at all in this instance! Many great bonus features on the DVD such as deleted/extended scenes, director interview, a making-of featurette, photos, and the entire soundtrack as bonus DVD-Audio tracks. Much of the bonus material is in German, yet still fun to watch.