ABANDONED
TORZOK



Hungary, 2001, 100 min, color

Aron Soproni is a nine year old boy whose parents' marriage has fallen apart in the wake of Hungary's political turmoil following the failed Communist takeover of 1956. Aron has been placed in the custody of his father but discovers that he has little concern for him. Soon the father places Aron in an orphanage which turns out to be a nightmarish place run by sexually predatory fiends. But Aron soon finds friends and they band together against the adults. Aron and the others discover two members of the staff they can trust - a professor of astronomy and a pretty woman who stirs their first romantic longings. Arpad Sopsis has based the film on his own experiences in an institution of abandoned children.

"In the tradition of Louis Malle's "Au Revoir Les Enfants" and other pics that autobiographically depict a grim world of alienated children, Abandoned is strangely beautiful thanks to the impressive camerawork by Peter Szatmari and the perfect performances. The Music by the group After Crying fits in very well."

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