''Tender Son: The Frankenstein Project'' ( hu, Szelíd teremtés: A Frankenstein-terv) is a 2010 Hungarian film written and directed by Kornél Mundruczó, developed from his own theatrical play and loosely based on Mary Shelley's '' Frankenstein''. The film was screened in the main competition at the

2010 Cannes Film Festival The 63rd Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 23 May 2010, in Cannes, France. The Cannes Film Festival, hailed as being one of the most recognized and prestigious film festivals worldwide, was founded in 1946. It consists of having films scr ...

, where it was poorly received by critics.

Cast

* Rudolf Frecska as boy * Kitty Csíkos as girl * Kornél Mundruczó as director *

Lili Monori Lili Monori (born 10 October 1945) is a Hungarian actress. She appeared in more than sixty films since 1968. Selected filmography References External links * 1945 births Living people Hungarian film actresses {{Hungary-actor-s ...

as mother * Miklós Székely B. as father

Production

The film was produced by Proton Cinema with co-production support from fellow Hungarian companies Filmpartners and Laokoon Film, Germany's Essential Filmproduktion and Austria's KGP Produktion. It received 150 million HUF (€540,000) in support from the Motion Picture Public Foundation of Hungary and 145,000 Euro from the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung in Germany. The total budget was €1.6 million.

Reception

Peter Brunette Peter Brunette (September 18, 1943 – June 16, 2010) was a film critic and film historian.Obituary ''Los Angeles Times'', June 22, 2010, page AA6. He was the author of several books, including biographies of Italian directors Roberto Rossellini ...

of '' The Hollywood Reporter'' was highly critical of the film: "One wonders what the grand poobahs at the Cannes Film Festival were thinking when they chose "Tender Son -- The Frankenstein Project," a disastrously bad Hungarian film, for the competition. It's pokey and pretentious, and all character motivations, which are often contradictory if not ridiculously illogical, seem based on the film's symbolic needs rather than on real-life psychological desires." In '' Variety'', Boyd van Hoeij was disappointed with how the filmmakers had bypassed the original novel's mythological allusions: "Mundruczo and regular co-scripter Yvette Biro (''Delta'', ''

Johanna Johanna is a feminine name, a variant form of Joanna that originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, including an -h- by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The original Greek form ''Iōanna'' lacks a medial /h/ because in Greek /h/ cou ...

'') have completely neutered Shelley's clever notion of a hero incompatible with his surroundings by replacing the monster with a flesh-and-blood human with no backstory, turning him into a supposed equal rather than a misunderstood outcast. Without a clear understanding of his psychology or past (How was he treated in the orphanage? How does he feel about his parents' absence for most of his life?), his random killing spree seems simply incomprehensible and vile." In 2010, film won Special Jury Prize at Sarajevo Film Festival.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tender Son - The Frankenstein Project 2010 films 2010 drama films 2010s Hungarian-language films Hungarian films based on plays Films directed by Kornél Mundruczó Frankenstein films Hungarian drama films