User reviews

Having never seen a Hungarian movie before, I didn't know what to expect. From its setting in beautiful Budapest to its haunting theme and the instant connection we feel with its main character, this film gripped me from its opening moments to the end of the credits.

Is it a mystery? Yes. Is it a romance? Yes. Will you be surprised by the ending? Perhaps. I liked that it kept me guessing and on my toes. We never really knew what was real and what was in her head.

A beautiful and touching film that I'll recommend to others.

This film does a fairly good job at drawing a moody, atmospheric european cinema not unlike Krzysztof Kieslowsk's works. The streets and bridges of Budapest as the story's setting, the score, the camera work and direction all become together to enchant us as viewers in a somewhat magical mystery-romance piece.

The storyline and the narrative though, is when the film fails to keep up with those virtues. The main character falls in love with a man who does not appear to recognise the face of the former and thus the mystery commences with a series of stalkings, conversations and events which lead to the upfilting of the mystery. But when that uplifting happens, it's just not merely interesting or impactful to leave its mark. The film could have definitely been much stronger had it had a deeper, more detailed and structured script.

I should have loved a thunderbird instead; At least when spring comes they roar back again. I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead. (I think I made you up inside my head.)

• Sylvia Plath, Mad Girl's Love Song

Márta, an American neurosurgeon, is on a bridge in Budapest waiting for the love of her life to appear at the appointed time. She has given up her job, patients, kids, and husband to be with this man. He doesn't show.

"I've never seen you before," he says when Márta tracks him down at a local hospital (he is also a brain surgeon). Still, she doesn't let it go. Márta is Carrie Fisher in Blues Brothers level obsessed. She gets a job at his hospital and starts to woo him again. She is certain he will remember. Or perhaps it is all in her head. "A brain is like a city. There are abandoned buildings that can be sacrificed if need be, to save the whole."

Cerebral in more ways than one, this female driven film is an intriguing brain tickler. There are many possibilities as to what drove Márta to Hungary and where she is going from here. Her love interest is seen with another woman of course, so there's that, but thankfully the film goes much deeper than this tired old trope. It delves into Márta's mental state. She has done something like this before in a previous romance. "I wanted something so bad I lost myself" Márta tells her psychiatrist, and yet you don't get to be a brain surgeon without having a healthy intuition. She struggles to trust herself.

There are some amazing scenes including of Márta and the other doctor following each other across Budapest on different sides of the street. There are fascinating twists and turns.

This movie flows like a big river. If you can just enjoy the slow flow, the soft cinematography, the imperfect buildings, the very minimalistic acting, you will have a good time.

The story is meant to be very simple, this is all about the mood it tries to convey.

Nothing about the events portrayed in this movie was believable and the ending was just plain silly, but it had a steady, chill vibe and the lead actress had a very captivating screen presence.

Recommended if you just want to relax for 90 mins, but don't expect anything deep.

Thus is a superbly executed and beautifully acted psychological mystery involving a lonely Hungarian doctor and her relocation from the USA back to Hungary to follow through on a new romance. There are immediate complications and one quickly wonders if she has imagined the whole affair due to mental illness. The two leads deliver wonderfully understated performances and there are some erotic set pieces that are clever in conception and playful in their choreography. I was spellbound throughout the film and felt great empathy for the lead character and her anguished search for a resolution to the mystery at the heart of events.

The movie fails early, at story telling, as the script is just plain terrible. The basic premise is that the female lead character has spent 20 years in the US training and then launching her career as a neurosurgeon only to abandon everything because she met a Hungarian fellow neurosurgeon at a conference. I understand poetic license and creative liberties, but this is just plain silly in its implausibility and is just not a great story. Then some weird obsession unfolds, with a meaningless end. So the movie is neither a psychological thriller or a subtle psychological narrative of any kind, nor is it romantic in any meaningful way. The soundtrack is entry level, as well. The director should stop writing her own scripts and shop for quality material written by others.

Some of the moody shots of Budapest are beautiful but they are merely an esthetic addition, unable to carry over this sad product. Camera work is also somewhat beginner-ish with the many pointless close-up takes.

Ever since I heard the name of this film I'd been intrigue. Although I'm not a huge fan of films with long titles this somehow seems to fit perfectly. This is one of those films where is better to enter the film without knowing too much about it. One of the few good things about the pandemic is you get to discover this types of films.

My greatest respect for this very sensible story, for the dramaturgy, and for reminding me of the silent perseverence of love! The lead actress, Natasa Stork, is just brilliant and lovely; excellent choice!

A wonderful movie. In a time of great absence of humanity and love in culture and all around us with mobile phones and thousands of unnecessary information bombarding us every day, this masterpiece restores my hope for salvation and the victory of beauty and kindness. In the daily madness and artificial speed imposed on me and the work I do as a doctor, this film really touched me deeply. Life is most beautiful where you love and are loved, and no material prosperity can replace that. Great actors, direction and story as well as beautiful Budapest! The deepest gift for the entire film crew. Thank you very much. Greetings from Belgrade.