Adoption

Based on the first 30 min, which was all I could take, this film, consisting mostly of chain smoking Hungarians earnestly and humorlessly conversing about motherhood and adoption, seems designed to repel viewers. C minus.

Beautiful black and white cinematography full of close-ups and the depiction of faces, details and of factory workers. Good acting depicting a sudden relationshipt that arises and develops between an unmarried woman who wants a baby (and her married boyfriend does not) and a teenager who has been abandoned by her parents and wants to marry her boyfriend. By helping and listening the latter, the former understands better her own situation and makes decisive decisions. I am not entirely convinced about the development of any of these two characters, and the so much mentioned troubled life of the girl and the labour condition of the woman seem not to seriously influence their attitude along the story. Script perhaps does not show enough coherence (the slap being the most gratuitous moment, perhaps) despite the slow time dedicated to dialogues.

1st watched 7/10/2009 – 4 out of 10 (Dir-Marta Meszaros): Interesting but unsatisfying drama about a middle-aged woman wanting a child but unable to get one in her current situation. She is no longer married and her lover is married to another woman and doesn't want to have one with her. She's medically able and she longs for this. She befriends an orphan from an institution and looks into taking her in as a daughter but this never works out. The movie is about the woman's longing and the routes she has to go to fulfill this. The young girl really just encourages her feelings but the logistics don't make her addition possible. The story is very slow moving and the characters really aren't that appealing. I usually like European movies and their focus on the real drama but this reality isn't that exciting or interesting. It is also very hard to read the main character and she is played very stoicly through most of the movie. Good things happen in the movie, but it's hard to tell the way the movie is directed. Feelings seem to get lost in the ho-hum mix and that's where the movie fails, in my opinion.

Marta Meszaros brings a subtle, yet effective critique of both communist Hungary and the patriarchal system that existed there in the mid 1970s. This film does move slowly, but that is part of what makes it great. It is shot in the social realism style. This means that there are long drawn-out shots, often with little dialogue. Slow camera movements are also a hallmark of this style. Since Adoption was made well outside of the Hollywood system, it does not adhere to the conventions that many American moviegoers would expect. If action-adventure is your kind of movie, skip this one. If, however, you are intrigued by a well told story pertaining to everyday life, this film is worth checking out.

Marta Meszaros was born in 1931 and still making films having made about thirty and shorts and TV also previously married to Miklos Jancso. Mostly known for Diary For My Children (1984) and recently Aurora Borealis: Northern Light (2017) and Adoption made earlier with an award at Berlin. The film is rather sad with the woman in her 40s and really wanting to have a baby but her lover not happy as he already has a wife and children. A young dysfunctional girl, she thinks, it might be an idea, although it is rather silly and it becomes complicated she is already unhappy with her life and her parents. The end is very sudden as she runs for a bus, although it doesn't look like being a good outcome. Nevertheless I thought it was well done and especially of the young girl and the older woman, and of course everyone at the wedding.