Love



Károly Makk's haunting, atmospheric and beautifully performed film, brilliantly shot by Janos Toth, captures exactly the fear and uncertainty of the time. It is, above all, a treatise on how such times affect fidelity, faith, illusion, love. It deals specifically with Hungary but has an absolutely universal appeal... completely unsentimental, but catches precisely what its characters face and how they feel...an outstanding film. - Derek Malcolm.

One of the loveliest manifestations of romantic imagination I have seen on the screen. - New York Times.

Special Features

• Introduction to the film by its director Károly Makk.
• Digitally re-mastered with restored image and sound, approved by the Director.
• Anamorphic 16:9 enhanced for widescreen televisions.
• New and improved English subtitle translation.

This film has been available in the US on VHS. The version I have, taped from TV in Australia, is a bit jumpy in terms of quality. I understand the ratio will be corrected from the full-frame version screened here. [I'm not sure if the US VHS version was also full-frame.]

Another Communist classic which must have been banned by the authorities due to its intelligent criticism of the regime as seen through the eyes of its well defined characters. The editing is quite intense in some scenes much like in Husarick's SZINBAD. As I said of THE EAR, the acting is superb.

Facets have their version of LOVE as a pre-order for Oct 25. It will apparently include a trailer but there is no mention of the OAR. (I have confirmed that it is a Facets production - CD Universe have it listed.)

If you can access PAL DVDs then I say go for Secondrun's version and avoid Facets.

This disc is just simply superb - wonderful transfer of a wonderful film!

I agree with Subbuteo's comments. Our films and television shows are overcrowded with adversarial nad vitriolic relationship between women and their mothers-in-law. This film takes a diametrically opposite point of view. The woman who plays the lead role is truly a luminous presence. She is beautiful, and she is happy because she is utterly selfless. Moments of mischief and humor light up the tragic undercurrent of the film. Marvelously acted, beautifully photographed in black and white, a film that gives meaning to its title. Second Run have done an excellent job of presenting it to us.

DVD Beaver review:
http://www.reviews.dvdbeaver.com/film/D ... iew%20.htm

Review at DVD Times.

Agree with the sentiments expressed about this film and was wondering if anyone has seen the 2003 film Hét Pesten és Budán, Egy that is mentioned in the Director's introduction and to be released by Second Run in the future??? Is it a forty years on ' Saraband/Scenes from a Marriage' deal or just using the same actors????

Wow, just watched LOVE and it is a real gem. Beautiful presentation too.

I think Makk's A LONG WEEKEND IN BUDAPEST just happens to use the same actors as LOVE. Although I haven't seen it, the description of the plot, and the names of the characters played by Ivan Darvas and Mari Töröcsik seem to be different. Anyway, I now await Second Run's release of that film with bated breath. If it's half as good as LOVE, good enough for me.

I agree, this is definitely one of the "finds" of the year for me. Beautiful film, and it gave me a lot to think about. The glockenspiel soundtrack is unforgettable. Did anyone else think there was a particularly Resnais like treatment of time and images? Especially the opening half hour was almost disorienting (I assume we're being exposed to the mother's experience.) And then there were jumps here and there.

The "plot" of her husband was a little distracting, but it was employed so enigmatically it just added to the mystery of it all.

Finally got round to seeing this last night, and can only agree with all the praise above.

Wonderful film, exquisitely shot, brilliantly acted --- and a fine story. Bergmanesque in many ways.

It fits alongside Criterion sleepers like THE SHOP ON MAIN ST, LE TROU, IL POSTO. All wildly different films, but all quality sleepers.

I'd like to add to the chorus of approval, and hurl another bouquet in Second Run's face.

What a wonderful film: subtle, allusive, with a rivetting editing style that keeps you alert and engaged, even when the characters are nodding off. I'm guessing that a lot of forum members would love film this if they gave it a chance, so I'll make some rash analogies in the hope that they'll encourage a few more sales.

The resemblance to the Czech New Wave is obvious and pertinent, though Makk's style is somewhat more adventurous than what you'd find in the four Criterion representatives of that movement.

Another way of thinking about Love could be in relation to contemporary Soviet cinema, but here Makk has tackled relatively traditional subject matter (think Ballad of a Soldier or The Cranes are Flying with the melodrama dialled down) in a style that's probably closest to Tarkovsky's Mirror. Love may even contain as many haunting images as the Tarkovsky, though a lot of them are nearly subliminal.

Further to this, anyone who admires the daring, disjunctive editing in Nicolas Roeg's 70s films should definitely check this out. In fact, if you like Criterion's Bad Timing, I'd even suggest this as a follow up.

Among the Eastern European films, this one stands as tall as "Loves of a Blonde" and "Closely Watched Trains". An excellent film!

In the trailer you see two short scenes showing the husband being picked up for questioning and then being transferred to jail (in a striped uniform). Both of these scenes are in the film but with a minor difference: the husband is actually not seen in the feature. This reminds me of the YOUNG TORLESS trailer which also features alternate scenes not in the film.

From the Second Run DVD Newsletter 3:

Just watched this film myself over the weekend and have to agree with everything that has been said about it from the perfect acting to the fascinating flashes of memory on the part of both the mother-in-law and wife.

The trailer is a great inclusion as not only are there different takes of scenes, the flashback scenes are shown for longer and there is also the alternate angle of the scene where Luca is talking to Iren the maid about the broken plate and inheritance - in the film you see it completely from over Iren's shoulder focused on Luca and her grief, so this alternate angle shows how footage was shot that could perhaps have made a conventional two shot back and forth edit, but a decision was made to play it out in the other shot.

I think this will be one of my films of the year for although it is slow it is completely captivating. I was only going to watch five minutes but ended up watching the whole thing unable to tear myself away! Needless to say I am about to order Another Way to see if I like that one as well, and look forward to seeing more films by Karoly Makk!

'Love' makes it into Movie Mail's Films of 2005 along with MOC's 'Onibaba', Plexi's 'Christo', the Humphrey Jennings Collection and eight more.

Saw Love just recently. Superb film. The narrative composed of shots of thoughts and memories, and her interpretations of the letter's Luca has written was particularly striking, as was Makk's non-political approach (we never hear why Janos was arrested; just assume he was arrested on fictitious charges, as was all too common during the era of Mátyás Rákosi).

What is interesting though is whether Janos' mother truly believes the letters. There's one suggestion she's going along with them. Makk adds stills of the prison cell Janos is housed in during her moments of recollection, as if she has doubts.

Screening Saturday 27th June at 4:15 pm at London's ICA as part of this year's Check the Gate Hungarian Film Festival.
Director Karoly Makk will be in attendance, making a rare visit to the UK.
http://www.ica.org.uk/Love%20%2B%20Q%26 ... +20121.twl

Graeme Hobbs' latest podcast for MovieMail: Articles of Separation: Karoly Makk's Love

This blew me away. I had gone into it assuming nothing of the film, but I'm walking away thinking of it as one of the best in Second Run's library. That first third was simply unbelievable. It managed to make the most mundane situation into a visual treat, and that was before he started to show off his real skill.
What it offers beyond that too, my god. The relationship between the three female leads is so captivating and complex without once ever being self conscious. I particularly like how the lies are slowly and naturally admitted as such(they're obviously from the first word which is a nice bit of humour)while at the same time being perfectly plain exposition. This is just one of the best combinations of great writing, acting, directing, and editing I've ever seen. I am going to have to order the other film SR offers on the next payday.

You won't regret it, though I didn't think the later Makks (there are two of them available) were as good as Love - but that's more a comment on the greatness of Love.

Second Run's is one of the most consistently rewarding and surprising catalogues around. I happily resigned myself to blind-buying everything they released a long time ago, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I'm definitely in that boat too. Even the relative disappointment of Diary for My Children was fascinating from a sociological standpoint.