User reviews

As somebody who is disabled and has Aspergers myself, 'On Body and Soul' did resonate a lot with me and really did feel a big emotional connection with it.

'On Body and Soul' is not a perfect film, with the unflinching savage elements (even in the unusual slaughter house setting) not really gelling with the rest of the film and feeling almost gratuitous in the shock value. Having said that, it is also a really beautiful film that was made with a lot of good intentions and heart. Really respected that it handled Aspergers and disability with sensitivity and tact, doing it in a way that makes one genuinely connect with the characters even more so than we do already. It's not overdone and it's not trivialised either.

Unusual a love story that in 'On Body and Soul' is, but it is also one with soul and a lot of pathos. The excellent performances from the two leads Geza Morcsanyi and particularly Alexandra Borbely help bring a genuine poignancy to the story and their chemistry is heartfelt in its realism. Nothing is rushed or far-fetched, it progresses at a realistic rate and it really does look like they are in love. The rest of the cast are also strong but it's all about the two leads.

Visually, 'On Body and Soul' is very well made. It is beautifully filmed and a lot of the imagery is splendidly unsettling. The music is hauntingly beautiful and Ildiko Enyedi's direction is controlled and intelligent, excelling in the connection between human and animal behaviour and the depiction of the alienation of modern urbane living.

The script is nuanced, poignant and thought-provoking, with some pertinent points made about the subjects it explores. Pacing is deliberate but never dull.

Summing up, a very good and often very moving film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Saw this at the Berlinale film festival 2017, where it was part of the official Competition. Possibly a spoiler but no secret anymore: It won the Golden Bear for best film. Unusual love story in an even more unusual setting, namely a slaughterhouse. The two main protagonists, the financial director and a newly appointed quality controller, are both not socially streetwise. Their personalities with their deviancies are very well portrayed, letting them stand out from cardboard characters that appear in some (other) love stories.

The movie opens in a forest where we see one male and one female deer, watching each other from a distance. At later moments, we see variations of the same scene. But before we think this is some form of running gag, we get the reason why it is important and why it is repeated with small variations. It comes to light as a side effect of a psychological screening of all personnel working in the slaughterhouse, that the two main protagonists have identical dreams at night with said two deer in a forest. Initially, they both consider it unbelievable. And the resident psychologist even assumes that she is the victim of a practical joke, and does not believe it either. Their disbelief ends when they compare notes, and observe the similarities as well as the progress in the dreams, in hindsight easy to be derived from our knowledge what to look for as the couple grows closer together in cautious steps.

All in all, the screenplay demonstrates very well how the two main protagonists get attracted to each other, and how the rest of the slaughterhouse staff behaves around them. They are not exactly outcasts but not an integral part of the social structure either, so gossip and unfriendly comments are to be expected. The slow progress in their courtship is juxtaposed with the two deer in their respective dreams who come closer together in tiny steps. It is all very unusual, but one never gets the feeling that it is too far-fetched.

Enyedi has made a beautiful love story weaving a little bit of magical realism into it. This felt like an introvert's fantasy realized on the screen. There were so many moments that could have gone wrong if tweaked a little bit to either side but they felt perfect here. With beautiful cinematography and great performances, this is one of the best romances of the year.

Who would have thought that scenes of two deer, slowly moving through a snowy forest, could be so meaningful? Apart from being beautiful nature shots, there is a special meaning to them in this film, when it turns out that the two protagonists both dream of being a deer. That's the magic of cinema: to give images a deeper emotional meaning than they seem to have at first sight.

I loved everything about this film. The slightly bizarre story to begin with: two people discover that they're having the same dream every night. The way they discover this is priceless in itself. I also loved the two characters: both are slightly handicapped, one physically and the other one emotionally. Actress Alexandra Borbély is great, playing a girl with autistic spectrum disorder. And above all I loved the way the director takes her time to let the story develop: slowly but very deliberately, taking care of every small meaningful detail.

This is a very tender movie. The viewer can't help but sympathize with these two lonely people, both trying so hard to understand each other. It's making a great case for human dignity, mutual understanding and tolerance.

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 and life.

The movie may be too intimate and fallible for some prople, though all those uneasy details add 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 in contrasts to the previous 90 minutes as the movie cleverly and slowly evolved and expanded) 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.)

Snowfall in a forest of firs, gentle wind, the soothing sound of flowing water and two deer nuzzling in the mist. Endre and Maria are fastidious loners and mere acquaintances, yet they share this recurring dream. Though Maria has extreme difficulty with physical contact, she strives to overcome this limitation with her vivid imagination and immense desire. The mutual and expanding dreams tug at the pair, body and soul, but so do their fears, obsessions and predilections for solitude.

I loved the sensual nature of the film and the two main characters who delight in little things such as the warmth of sunlight and the brushing of hair with a hand. Close-up photography, of faces, reflections in the water and more, adds another layer of sensuality to the film. Both Endre and Maria work in a slaughterhouse and while the story does not dwell for too long in the raw bloodshed of this, it is enough to make you vow to become a vegetarian. I appreciate the film's slant on the subject, which Endre gives voice to in telling a candidate for a job at the slaughterhouse, "if you don't feel sorry for the cows, you can't work here." The character chemistry seems a little off, as Endre appears much older and uglier than Maria, but maybe it is just me. Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The opening scenes showing the actual slaughter of a live cow made me want to turn this one off. I am not vegetarian, but I wonder why the director included these graphic details in what is ostensibly a quiet, soulful film. The two leads are very good, but I was wishing for some recognizably human traits from the female character; Too often a performance such as this (and we've seen spectrum disorders portrayed on film for decades) comes off as an actor's feat - not flowing out of the actor's experience, and as a result, not as compelling as intended. Still, there are some nice details in both performances, and they certainly carry this film, but I just couldn't totally commit to the artist's conception here.

'ON BODY AND SOUL': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A Hungarian drama which is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Academy Awards. It tells the tale of two slaughterhouse workers that have been having the same dream every night, in which they meet as deer in the forest. The film was written and directed by Ildikó Enyedi, and it stars Geza Morcsanyi, Alexandra Borbely, Zoltan Schneider, Ervin Nagy and Itala Bekes. It's received nearly unanimous positive reviews from critics, and it's won multiple other prestigious awards as well. Netflix is now distributing the movie, in the US, through it's streaming site. I found it to be well made and touching.

Endre (Morcsanyi) is the CFO at a slaughterhouse, which has just employed a young new quality manager named Mária (Borbely). Endre is attracted to Maria, and he tries to converse with her, but she has difficulties talking with people due to her extreme social issues (similar to autism). When there's a minor theft at work, all of the employees are interviewed by a psychologist, as part of the investigation. While they're interviewed, Endre and Mária realize they've been having the same dream every night, in which they're both deer. This creates a very odd relationship between the two.

The movie is really well acted, and the characters seem very believable and real. The slaughterhouse scenes are also really realistic, and extremely disturbing (especially for a vegan like me). The romance of the film is beautiful, and oddly touching too (so are the dream sequences). I especially like that the main female character has such extreme social issues, and a freakishly good memory (these are both things that I can really relate to). There's also an extremely shocking, and suspenseful, romantic climax. It's also oddly touching and weirdly beautiful though. Overall I thought it was a really well made and effective film.

SPOILER: I consider this film one of the most overrated films recently.

There is an autistic woman. And a man with a crippled arm. When their quasi-romance begins, the man makes no effort at all to try to understand how the woman communicates, how she is different. She almost commits suicide because of the man's unwillingness to even try. And right after her suicide attempt, he sexually penetrates the woman, who was having difficulties even touching. Is this romantic? I find it abhorrent and disgusting. And of course, the woman is partially cured of the autism after the man has had sex with her. Wow, of course, she only needed to be f*d after a suicide attempt to be made more 'normal'. What a great take on autism!

Really, if this film is romantic, I don't want to have anything to do with romance. But to be honest, I think the problem is not with romance, but how this film portrays it.

This is a below-average film that became overrated because it deals with the topic of autism (in a very unintelligent way in my opinion) and because its beautiful imagery and slow pace. This is not enough for a good film though. Don't fall for the hype, this is a bad film.

I always think A good movie is one that can touch your heart and move your feelings ,The good story does not necessarily make a good film , this is Unusual romance from Unusual Director Ildikó Enyedi ,It won the Golden Bear for best film but also deserve an Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film . the magical realism Presented in this film tell us that Love Is beautiful dream & Life deserves to live To experience love . I think movies like On "Body and Soul" Explain The big difference between European cinema and Hollywood , in Europe Cinema is an art of soul and heart & that is what cinema was invented for thanks Mária and Endre ,Alexandra Borbély&Géza Morcsányi for For the beauty that you have done thanks Máté Herbai for great Cinematography thanks Adam Balazs for the beautfuil music thanks for all cast &crew

Beautiful. Moving. Funny. Touching. Magical. Shocking. Wonderful. A film for grown-ups with hearts and minds. The direction - the shots, the camera-work, the framing - are a pleasure: one admires parts of the film as one does a painting. The acting is so natural as to forget one is not watching a real life scene. The script is elegant and sparse - there is so much left unsaid; it's the space between the words that count. The all encompassing vision makes one proud to be a human being.

A peaceful, gentle exploration on love. Metaphors of love are depicted through deers in a snowy woods. The film is sensual yet innocent, an intriguing story about two lovers.

This feels like a work of art, so many shots are unique and convey tonal changes. There are slaughterings of animals and the fact that the characters dream of being deer definitely has some significant metaphors. But as a movie, it's quite boring. To show the beauty and every moment wonderfully, the plot develops extremely slowly. Notice most of the positive reviews titles include the word film, and rarely movie. This may just be a linguistic difference but it sums up reactions well: if you view this as a film, something of an artwork that is an experience in itself, then you very well may enjoy this. If you are looking for a movie, in a more general sense, not necessarily a film but something entertaining, you may find this boring. I'll admit it wasn't putting me to sleep but it would have if I wasn't invested in the actors. The acting is quite good, characters are well developed, plot is interesting. Maybe this is my opinion as someone watching this movie a few years after it's come out, or not being European myself there are cultural differences in films, but I feel it was a decently enjoyable movie that just had events occurring extremely slowly.

Can anyone truly feel what you feel (no matter if you are autistic or not)? The lengths we go to in hope of finding that special connection with someone who 'gets us'... The film makes such a connection a mystical act, inexplicable by rational thinking: the dreams, the "I feel like I'm going to die" phone call just at the right time... And it feels right... And then the song comes... This film twists your soul and makes you rethink the nature of human connections. A masterpiece.

A couple working at a slaughterhouse have the same dream every night involving a pair of deer. The man has a paralyzed arm and the woman is emotionally stunted. The origins of her personality are never explained. Over time, the two slowly share their dreams and attempt to have some sort of normal interaction. At its' core, it is a simple story of loneliness and of two lost souls looking for human connection. The actors are good, but I would have preferred more of a back history of the characters. Why did they become the way they were? The woman is especially strange. I was not thrilled with the ending, but overall, it is worth watching. A warning to animal lovers out there. The early scenes of animal slaughter are real and fairly gruesome. This will cause some meat eaters to turn vegetarian.

ON BODY AND SOUL is an invigorating comeback of Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi, her first feature film in 18 years which stimulatingly dances away with the Golden Bear in Berlin.

The plot can be basically boiled down as follows: when a lonely man meets a lonely woman, how the pair fumbles to build an authentic connection without forfeiting their individuality, because both are crippled in very different terms, for a middle-aged Endre (Morcsányi), it is his corporal handicap, a liability which might explain why he is a singleton, but for the young Maria (Borbély), her condition is far more unusual and intriguing, she seems to be stuck in a limbo of emotionally arrested development, equipped with no social skills, and eschews human contact of any sort, but in accordance with the less unconventional "idiot savant" trope, she is also endowed with a preternatural power of memory, which might fairly explain her credentials as a quality inspector, newly appointed to work in Endre's abattoir, where he assumes the job as the chief financial officer.

Despite of its well-trodden narrative arc, ON BODY AND SOUL refreshingly channels a mystical dream-reality correlation between the two protagonists, embodied in their shared dreamscape as a stag and a doe and through a subplot of psychological assessment, its earth-shattering revelation is comically underlined by Klára (a voluptuous Réka Tenki and an uncanny Jennifer Lawrence doppelgänger), the psychiatrist who is in a snit of believing that she has been taken for a ride (indeed, comical elements are friskily deployed throughout). It is this paranormal tie-in propels their bonding in motion, which reverberates as a sobering call, how could these two isolated souls even start a tentative gesture if there were no such beggar belief fabrication to break the humongous glacier between them, one must venerate Enyedi for her keen insight of the intrinsic difficulty apropos of human interactions, and her diligent craftsmanship of balancing the dream- reality dyad with an intimate but non-judgmental outlook amid the film's gorgeous imagery.

It is still a bumpy road ahead after that, not least for the tabula-rosa Maria, who really steps out of her comfort zone and out on a limb to prepare herself for the ineluctable carnal ritual, but at the same time, her gawkiness sends many a wrong signal to an increasingly frustrated Endre, who is self-aware of their gaping age difference and dubious of his own potency. When the crunch comes Enyedi doesn't flinch from radically bringing a splurge of red into play, even if it offends the squeamish, which is not dissimilar with the slaughterhouse mise-en-scène, viewers are impelled to stare at pain and gore vis-à-vis, because cruelty is the staple among human beings, whether we (sometimes even obliviously) cast it on our own kind or lesser beings.

The two leading performances are of high caliber, dramaturgist Géza Morcsányi is well at ease with Endre's resigned, contemplative demeanor tinged with a smidgen of sophistication, whereas a doe-eyed (no puns intended!) Alexandra Borbély is simply mesmerizing to hold our attention from stem to stern, often appears like an ethereal creature with her impassive lineaments, and registers her unaffected agenda at the same time in pinpoint economy.

Mournfully honed in Laura Marling's WHAT HE WROTE, the thematic dirge bewitches Maria and audience alike, ON BODY AND SOUL reaches its crescendo with a hard-earned happy ending, when magic dissipates, a new lease on life is inaugurated, which could be also read as a herald of Enyedi's own future, career-wise. In fact, she is a few years younger than Géza Morcsányi in real life, so guaranteed by this fascinating love story, her next offering looks pretty buoyant, with only one proviso, the waiting time must be significantly pared down, an 18-year hiatus is an egregious waste of her talent.

Interesting premise but it didn't really captivate me. I mean Lynch and Bergman did it better but this is still a solid film with great performances. The bath tub scene was a little too much for me but the ending was really great.

Visually On Body and Soul is gorgeous (both in its aesthetics and storytelling), it's concept is a truly unique take on romance. The problem is with the subpar delivery and the clunky writing.

The acting ranges from decent to great, at least visual performance vise (loved the close up shots of the actors' excellent mimicry). Alexandra Borbély and Géza Morcsányi gave fantastic visual performances, you can understand everything you need to know about their characters, what they're thinking at the moment etc. by their subtle expressions, but as soon as they opened their mouths it took me out of the film. The line delivery and oral performances feel ingenuine and unconvincing (except for Tamás Jordán and Zoltán Schneider who were great all around). I understand that it's purposefully and fittingly restrained and withdrawn, but it goes so far in that spectrum that it makes every conversation between the main characters a chore to get through (for the audience). The writing doesn't help it either. As a Hungarian, Ildikó Enyedi's writing (especially the dialouges) felt really unnatural and old-fashioned for me, like a book from another century (something from Dezsö Kosztolányi - a great Hungarian writer from the early 20th century). So I'd say you'll probably enjoy this film more if you're not familiar with the Hungarian language. Lastly I'm not sure what was I supposed to take away from the film. It seemed like other than a beautiful portrayal of a spiritual connection b/w two people - Body and Soul, which is praiseworthy enough, there's not much else under the surface. I didn't feel like I really gained anything from watching this film. Which is my personal issue, but I wanted to adress it anyway.

On Body and Soul is a tough watch. It's overlong and kind of empty in a way, with bad line delivery. Still I would recommend seeking it out, because it's a highly unique experience with a one-of-a-kind atmosphere, fantastic cinematography and some commendable (mostly visual) performances.