During the 81st Venice Film Festival, I was able to see an independent film from Hungary called, Január 2 written and directed by Zsófia Szilágyi.
The film takes place during the course of the day after new years where Agi comes to help her best friend, Klara move out of her husband’s home and into an apartment with her two small children.
During the film and the several car trips between the house and apartment, the two friends have discussions, meet other members of their circle, and you get to see how different these two women are but that they really do need and care for each other.
I had options to go see some other more well known named films such as The Order starring Jude Law or Babygirl starring Nicole Kidman. At the last minute, I decided to go to this film and I am so glad I did.
While Klara is getting a divorce and she already has a new boyfriend who comes over to the apartment to help unpack, she is chatty, flirty, smiles and likes to talk out loud her thoughts and feelings. Agi is the opposite: quiet, observant, reserved and keeps everything close to her chest. When they are alone during one car ride, she shares briefly that she had an argument with her boyfriend and is worried about her own relationship. Klara is trying to be there for her but is also distracted by the move, her husband’s aggressive behavior at her leaving him, the in-laws, the children, the move, her own parents.
I found this movie to be an honest depiction of not just friendship but female friendship, which is unfortunately rare to see. I reached out to the filmmaker, and she was open to answering some questions about her film. Below is a condensed version.
I enjoyed that this film had two very different women who are very close and life-long friends. There are two scenes that I loved:
- When they go to the new building and Agi says the building looks pretty but Klara says, “I never thought that” and Agi admits that it really is not. I laughed because it is so true that a friend will try to make you feel better but a true life long friend, who is more like family, you will say, “Why bother to lie? This building sucks” and she will immediately admit it.
- The new boyfriend tells Agi that Klara is the strongest woman he knows. I thought, “No, she is just being a woman, she has to do what she has to do. Klara is strong, but Agi is strong too. He is just not used to knowing what women have to go through to survive.”
Were these two examples inspired from real life experiences?
Yes, you see it well, they were inspired from life.
The first one is really about Ági trying to do something to cheer Klara up, but she says something that just isn’t true. Klára prefers the truth to revealing or being nice. It’s as if she’s saying something like, “We’ve been friends for 15 years, let’s not fool each other: the house is not nice.” And it’s a relief for Ági, too: she doesn’t have to pretend. In fact, it’s at this point in the film where they really find their usual voice, without all the politeness.
I agree with the interpretation of the second dialogue, I would add just one more thought: at this point Ági can’t help thinking about how lost and vulnerable Klára was a few minutes earlier as she was standing in the room. Klára is very strong, but the situation is far more complex than the new boyfriend imagines.
(A reminder and some context: the film is Klara has two small children, around 4 and 2 years old with her husband. She is leaving her husband and moving with the children to a small apartment and they will figure out sharing custody. The children are with the grandparents so they do not see the mom move out of the house. As soon as the children are out of the house, the husband and Klara are screaming at each other, him angry at her leaving, but we also see as to why she might be leaving him in the first place as his treatment and dismissal of her.)
How can people find this film from another country?
Unfortunately, I don’t really know. If the film has a festival tour, then maybe I will know. It had its Hungarian premiere with mixed reception. Some found it meaningful: accurate and tense, others found it boring. I see it now as a film that goes full speed past some people and appeals to others. That’s probably the case with all films, but there’s a sharp difference now. This is the second film I’ve made, the opinions that came to me on the first one were not so contrasting.
Any funny stories from time on the set?
The packing was so complicated: which box after which, which round, who brought it into the apartment, that there was a point when the actors and I started laughing and couldn’t stop. The script supervisor kept explaining what and how, but it was incomprehensibly complicated. I even said to a trainee: see, that’s continuity. Terrible!
All my thanks and appreciation to our script supervisor!
Anything else you want to share?
Dear Tara, it was very interesting for me to read your comments. They were so accurate… I am grateful that you understood it so precisely.
Keep an eye out for the film and here is the trailer:
