''Love'' ( hu, Szerelem) is a 1971 Hungarian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Károly Makk Károly Makk (December 22, 1925 – August 30, 2017) was a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. Five of his films were nominated for the ''Palme d'Or'' at the Cannes Film Festival; however, he won lesser awards at Cannes and elsewhere. He wa ...

. Based on two short stories by

Tibor Déry Tibor Déry (18 October 1894 in Budapest – 18 August 1977 in Budapest) was a Hungarian writer and poet. He also wrote under the names Tibor Dániel and Pál Verdes. György Lukács praised Dery as being "the greatest depicter of human b ...

, ''Szerelem'' (1956) and ''Két asszony'' (1962), it stars

Lili Darvas Lili Darvas (born Lili Sára Darvas; April 10, 1902 – July 22, 1974) was a Hungarian actress noted for her stage work in Europe and the United States and, later in her career, in films and on television.Wolfgang Saxon"Lili Darvas, Actress of St ...

and

Mari Törőcsik Mari Törőcsik (born Marián Törőcsik; 23 November 1935 – 16 April 2021) was a Hungarian stage and film actress. She appeared in more than 170 films from 1956 to 2020. She won the award for Best Actress at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival ...

. The film was selected as the Hungarian entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

44th Academy Awards The 44th Academy Awards were presented April 10, 1972, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Helen Hayes, Alan King, Sammy Davis Jr., and Jack Lemmon. One of the highlights of the evening was the ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee. Today, ''Love'' is considered a classic of world cinema by critics including

Derek Malcolm Derek Elliston Michael Malcolm (born 12 May 1932) is an English film critic. Son of J. Douglas Malcolm (died 1967) and Dorothy Vera (died 1964; née Elliston-Taylor), Malcolm was educated at Eton College and Merton College, Oxford. As a child he ...

and

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

. The film was selected for screening as part of the Cannes Classics section at the

2016 Cannes Film Festival The 69th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian director George Miller was the President of the Jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies. On 15 Marc ...

. The film was chosen to be part of the New Budapest Twelve, a list of Hungarian films considered the best in 2000.

Cast

- Az öregasszony *

- Luca *

Iván Darvas Iván Darvas (born ''Szilárd Darvas''; 14 June 1925 in Behynce ( hu, Beje, german: Behintz; now part of Tornaľa, Revúca District, Banská Bystrica Region) – 3 June 2007 in Budapest, Hungary) was a Hungarian actor. Early life Born as ...

- János *

Erzsi Orsolya Erzsi Orsolya (1901–1984) was a Hungarian stage, film and television actress. Székely & Gajdó p.673-75 A character actress, she appeared regularly in supporting roles on screen from the mid-1930s onwards. Selected filmography * '' Be True U ...

- Irén *

László Mensáros László Mensáros (1926–1993) was a Hungarian film, stage and television actor. Cowie & Elley p.247 After making his film debut in ''Professor Hannibal'' (1956), he acted prolifically in films and television with over more than a hundred and f ...

- Az orvos * Tibor Bitskey - Feri (as Bitskei Tibor) *

András Ambrus András () is a Hungarian masculine given name, the Hungarian form of ''Andrew''. Notable people with the name include: * András Ádám-Stolpa (born 1921), Hungarian tennis player * András Adorján (born 1950), Hungarian writer * András Ágos ...

- Börtönőr * József Almási - Tanár * Zoltán Bán - Borbély * Éva Bányai - Feriék szolgálója * Ágnes Dávid - Feriék szolgálója * Mária Garamszegi - Feriék szolgálója * Alíz Halda - Tanárnő *

Magda Horváth Magda Horváth is a Hungarian orienteering competitor. At the 1970 World Orienteering Championships in Friedrichroda she finished 19th in the ''individual event'', and received a silver medal in the ''relay'' with the Hungarian team (with Ágn ...

- Kissné *

Nóra Káldi Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to: * Nora (name), a feminine given name People with the surname * Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer * Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian Places Australia * Norah Head, New South Wales, headlan ...

- Az öregasszony fiatalon (as Káldy Nóra)

Historical background

In 1953 after the death of Soviet premier

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

many arrested people were released in Hungary. In ''Love'', Makk tells the story of a young Hungarian woman whose husband has been arrested by the

secret police Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...

, and who eases his mother's last months with the tale that her son is in America.

Reception

''Love'' won three prizes, including the

Jury Prize A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England durin ...

at the

1971 Cannes Film Festival The 24th Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 27 May 1971. The Palme d'Or went to ''The Go-Between'' by Joseph Losey. The festival opened with ''Gimme Shelter'', a documentary about English rock band The Rolling Stones directed by David Maysl ...

. It has also been acclaimed in recent years; Derek Malcolm ranked it one of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

s 100 best films of the 20th century.

References

External links

* * {{Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize 1971 films Hungarian black-and-white films 1971 drama films 1970s Hungarian-language films Films directed by Károly Makk Films based on multiple works Hungarian drama films

Cast

Historical background

Reception

See also

References

External links