Unknown Soldier

"Unknown Soldier" is a film about Ellison, a young man whose father suddenly dies, and after bouncing around from friend to friend becomes homeless. He ends up working for a street hustler named Zee. Ellison, who is wonderfully portrayed by Carl Louis, is basically an immature young teenager who is forced to grow up and become a man very quickly. I liked this film, especially when Ellison is forced to make choices about whether he will become a career criminal or abandon a life of crime before he's too deeply involved. There were some elements of film noir towards the end of the movie that should have been explored and extended more, but for a film from a debut director, Ferenc Tóth, it's quite an achievement. I saw this at the LA Film Festival in June 2004, and I asked Tóth if he had one piece of advice for a first-time director, what would it be? His answer - keep your story simple, and get good work out of your actors. A fine debut.