Fateless (2005)

Fourteen-year-old György's life is torn apart in World War II Hungary, as he is sent to a concentration camp, where he is forced to become a man, and learns to find happiness in the midst of hatred, and what it really means to be Jewish.

Director:

Lajos Koltai

Writers:

Imre Kertész (novel), Imre Kertész (screenplay)

Stars:

Marcell Nagy, Béla Dóra, Bálint Péntek

6 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marcell Nagy	...	Köves Gyuri
Béla Dóra	...	Dohányos
Bálint Péntek	...	Selyemfiú
Áron Dimény	...	Citrom Bandi
Péter Fancsikai	...	kis Kollmann
Zsolt Dér	...	Rozi
András M. Kecskés	...	Finn
Dani Szabó	...	Moskovics
Tibor Mertz	...	Fodor
Péter Vida	...	Lénárt
Endre Harkányi	...	öreg Kollmann
Márton Brezina	...	nagy Kollmann
Zoltán Bukovszki	...	Zoli
Gábor Nyiri	...	Hunyó
Jenö Nagy	...	Jenõ (as Nagy Jenõ)

Storyline

An Hungarian youth comes of age at Buchenwald during World War II. György Köves is 14, the son of a merchant who's sent to a forced labor camp. After his father's departure, György gets a job at a brickyard; his bus is stopped and its Jewish occupants sent to camps. There, György find camaraderie, suffering, cruelty, illness, and death. He hears advice on preserving one's dignity and self-esteem. He discovers hatred. If he does survive and returns to Budapest, what will he find? What is natural; what is it to be a Jew? Sepia, black and white, and color alternate to shade the mood.

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Plot Keywords:

death | buchenwald | budapest | concentration camp | prisoner | 

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Taglines:

You can close your eyes. You can turn away. But you will never forget.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some disturbing Holocaust images including nudity, and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Offcial site Official site [Hungary]

Country:

Hungary Germany UK Israel France USA

Language:

Hungarian German English Yiddish Hebrew Polish

Release Date:

10 February 2005 (Hungary)

Also Known As:

Fateless

Filming Locations:

Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

HUF2,500,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,680, 8 January 2006

Gross USA:

$196,857

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,512,009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hungarian Motion Picture Ltd., Magic Media Inc., EuroArts Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min 134 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kalvin Ter (the subject of the photos in LIFE Magazine shown to György) is a major square in the city centre of Budapest. It was named after the French Protestant Reformer John Calvin.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: [narrating] I didn't go to school today. Well, if only to ask my teacher to let me go home. I gave him father's letter. He asked what the reason was. I told him father had been called up for forced labor.

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Crazy Credits

Flash v. Schwabenland, Production Dog

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Soundtracks

Holdvilágos éjszakán (On a Moonlit Night)
Music by Mihály Eisemann
Lyrics by István Zágon
Sung by the four boys when the group is in transit

User Reviews

More than a holocaust movie

First of all, I have to tell, that I have not read the book yet, so I don't know how the book is like. But in my opinion the movie, in itself is really good. For me the movie had two major meanings. First, that all of us, who were not there in the camps, will never be able even to imagine how that was like. And the second, that people don't really listen to what you want to tell them, they listen to that, what they want to hear, and if your story does not satisfy them, because they want to hear something else, or because they can't accept your point of view, you will be left alone... And you will be lonely even among people of your own kind. And I think that's why this kid is fate-less, he himself tells at the and of the movie, he has to continue his life, which is not possible to continue, and he has to do this alone, because no one ever will understand him. Even fate has forsaken him.