On Body and Soul (2017)

When slaughterhouse workers Endre and Mária discover they share the same dreams, where they meet in a forest as deer and fall in love, they decide to make their dreams come true, but it's difficult in real life.

Director:

Ildikó Enyedi

Writer:

Ildikó Enyedi

Stars:

Alexandra Borbély, Géza Morcsányi, Réka Tenki

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 17 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alexandra Borbély	...	Mária / Doctor
Géza Morcsányi	...	Endre / Manager (as Morcsányi Géza)
Réka Tenki	...	Klára / psychologist
Zoltán Schneider	...	Jenö / HR manager
Ervin Nagy	...	Sanyi / womanizer
Itala Békés	...	Zsóka / older worker
Tamás Jordán	...	Mária's therapist
Éva Bata	...	Jenö felesége / Jenö's wife
Pál Mácsai	...	Investigator
Zsuzsa Járó	...	Zsuzsa / Endre's daughter
Nóra Rainer-Micsinyei	...	Sári / cleaning woman
Vivien Rujder	...	CD store saleswoman
István Dankó	...	CD store salesman
László Tóth	...	Shopkeeper
Júlia Nyakó	...	Rózsi / lover (as Juli Nyakó)

Storyline

On the outskirts of Budapest, the ageing recluse and saturnine manager of a small abattoir, Endre, is used to hiding his disabled left arm along with his emotions behind a busy schedule. Then, unexpectedly, a shy and graceful newcomer in the office catches Endre's eye: Mária, the plant's cryptic and glacially beautiful quality-control inspector. Now, against the backdrop of the cold slaughterhouse and a small theft within the company's walls, an eerie and almost spiritual bond will start to develop between the tender outcasts, as, more and more, their lives become inextricably intertwined. However, are the two dreamers, Endre and Mária, ready to embrace the catharsis of love on both body and soul?

---

Plot Keywords:

suicide attempt | bare breasts | female nudity | sex scene | autism | 

---

Taglines:

We meet at night. In our dreams.

---

Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The two protagonists always address each other using the more formal second person of the Hungarian language. By the year the story takes place, this form of speech has already become fairly uncommon between colleagues; it can signal both respect and distance.

---

Goofs

During Endre's (Géza Morcsány) interview with the psychologist he states he dreamt he was a deer and not alone, at around the thirty four minute mark the psychologist asks him, "Was it another Stag or Doe?" She should have asked if it was another Stag or Hind? Hind being the correct mate for a Stag whilst Doe is the mate for a Buck.

---

Crazy Credits

Closing credits: "Some animals were harmed during filming, but none of them for the sake of this film..."

---

Connections

Referenced in Sean Bradley's First Reaction: 90th Academy Awards - Nominations (2018)

---

Soundtracks

My Manic & I
Written and Performed by Laura Marling

User Reviews

Art this is

First things first: DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILERS they spoil the story. And what a story it is! Slow, vulnerable, awkward, beautiful, painful. You can smell the sweat and blood ad life. It may be too intimate and fallible for some prople's taste, though all those inconvenient details adds to the story and the feeling. It peaks in chatarsis multiple times during the movie, still the ending is a bit too obvious for my taste (especially when one contrasts that to how clever the movie was during its slow expansion in the previous hour and half) Still this is a masterpiece: multilayered, well acted, well shot. Bruising yet uplifting. What more one may ask from a movie. Update: initially I rated this 9/10 due to some nitpicking on technical issues like pacing at the end. After a week of haunting images, memories and feelings in its wake, I say this movie is the real deal: so here it is 10/10 (like M. Lazhar.)

Details

Official Sites:

official port.hu site Official site [Germany]

Country:

Hungary

Language:

Hungarian

Release Date:

2 February 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

On Body and Soul

Filming Locations:

Hungary

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,131,259

Company Credits

Production Co:

Inforg-M&M Film Kft., Hungarian National Film Fund

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1