Abandoned (2001)

Árpád Sopsits' Hungarian feature Abandoned portrays the bleak life facing young Aron when he lands in an orphanage, abandoned by his despondent father. Despite facing adversity from the cruel headmaster and some of the other boys, Aron finds solace with his young classmate Attila, which gives him the courage to lead his peers in revolt.

The film is an almost unremitting view of the horrors of being an orphan in Hungary as told from the viewpoint of an orphan. These boys are sent away to a dark forbidding place, shunned from their families. When they pray, the head of the orphanage forbids prayer - but prayer continues to be an outlet - as does close friendship with each other. While these are young boys, an atmosphere of sexual tension hovers over the film. Many scenes between the boys are close and tender - appearing as if they might head in a sexual direction, even though these boys are too young for that type of activity. One is very much reminded of the film Acla where boys worked in dark mines and a sexual tension hung over the film, like a mist. With dark, but very appropriate cinematography, naturalistic acting and tight script there are plenty of attributes that make this a film worth recommending.

Abandoned won Grand Prize at the Montreal World Film Festival, as well as the Alfred Bauer Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. It was also Hungary's official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. (Hungarian with English subtitles)

Scott Cranin