1945 (2017)

12 August 1945, 11 AM. Two mysterious strangers dressed in black appear at the railway station of a Hungarian village. Within a few hours, everything changes.

Director:

Ferenc Török

Writers:

Gábor T. Szántó, Ferenc Török

Stars:

Péter Rudolf, Bence Tasnádi, Tamás Szabó Kimmel

6 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Péter Rudolf	...	Szentes István, a jegyzö / Town Clerk
Bence Tasnádi	...	Szentes Árpád
Tamás Szabó Kimmel	...	Jancsi
Dóra Sztarenki	...	Kisrózsi
Ági Szirtes	...	Kustár Andrásné / Mrs. Kustár
József Szarvas	...	Kustár András
Eszter Nagy-Kálózy	...	Szentesné Anna / Mrs. Szentes
Iván Angelusz	...	Sámuel Hermann
Marcell Nagy	...	Sámuel Hermann fia / Son of Sámuel Hermann
István Znamenák	...	Állomásfönök / Station Master
Sándor Terhes	...	Iharos Pál
Miklós Székely B.	...	Suba Mihály (as Miklós B. Székely)
György Somhegyi	...	Ifj. Suba Mihály / Son of Suba Mihály
Tünde Szalontay	...	Rózsika
Béla Gados	...	Pap / Priest

Storyline

12 August 1945, 11 AM. Two mysterious strangers dressed in black appear at the railway station of a Hungarian village. In the shadow of Russian occupation, the people of the village are preparing for the wedding of the son of the clerk, but the bride's former fiance returns from captivity. Within a few hours, everything changes. Secrets, sins, reckoning, love, betrayal, confrontation.

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Plot Keywords:

stranger in town | guilt | year in title | holocaust | post world war two | 

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Taglines:

Some Secrets Can't Be Buried

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Hungary

Language:

Hungarian Russian

Release Date:

1 November 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

1945

Filming Locations:

Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

€1,467,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,412, 5 November 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,006,193, 13 January 2019

Company Credits

Production Co:

Katapult Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the role, Péter Rudolf gained 33 pounds (15 kg)

User Reviews

Not as compelling as that other recent Holocaust related movie from Hungary

As "1945" (2017 release from Hungary; 91 min.) opens, we are reminded by the radio news anchor that it is "Friday, August 12, 1945, 10 o'clock", the day the US drops a second atomic bomb on Japan and WW II is all but over. In a remote Hungarian village, a man (we later learn he is the Town Clerk, in essence the Mayor) and his family are getting ready for the new day. It's a big day as his son is getting married. Meanwhile, a train arrives at the town's train station and getting off are two Orthodox Jews. They brought with them two large crates. The train stationmaster is alarmed for some reason, and dashes off to inform the Town Clerk. Why is the stationmaster alarmed? what does the Town Clerk do? and what is in those crates? At this point we are 10 minutes into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie is co-written and directed by Hungary's Ferenc Torok. He tackles a delicate time in Hungary's history, when WW II is ending, the Soviets are there to stay, and Jews are returning (at least those that were lucky enough to survive the Holocaust). It has the potential of being a terrific story and movie, and while the movie certainly isn't bad, neither is it great, For that, the story is brought too stilted and too acted (you can practically hear the director yell "and... ACTION!" as you watch the actors on the screen. Many horrible things were done to the Jews in and after WW II, and that needs to be exposed. But I'd rather see it done in a riveting movie, say Hungary's other recent Holocaust drama, the 2016 Oscar-winning "Son of Saul", which purely as a movie is MILES better than "1945", I'm afraid. Please note that, like "son of Saul", "1945 is shot in remarkable B&W.

"1945" premiered at last year's Berlin Film Festival, and now more than a year later, appeared out of the blue on a single screen for all of Southwest Florida. The Sunday early evening screening where I saw this at a few weekends ago was attended so-so (less than 10 people). If you are interested in WW II or the treatment of Jews at that time, I'd suggest you check out "1945" in the theater (unlikely at this point), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.