''On Body and Soul'' ( hu, Testről és lélekről) is a 2017 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 ...

written and directed by

Ildikó Enyedi Ildikó Enyedi (; born 15 November 1955) is a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. Her 2017 film '' On Body and Soul'' won the top prize at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival and went on to be nominated for a Foreign Language Acad ...

. The story revolves around a

CFO The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

of a slaughterhouse and the newly appointed meat quality inspector who discover they can communicate with each other through their dreams, leading to an unlikely romance. It won the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

in the main competition section of the

67th Berlin International Film Festival The 67th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 18 February 2017 with Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven as President of the Jury. '' Django'', directed by Etienne Comar, opened the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded to the ...

. At Berlin it also won the

FIPRESCI Prize The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

and the

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury The Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (french: Prix du Jury Œcuménique) is an independent film award for feature length films shown at major international film festivals since 1973. The award was created by Christian film makers, film critics and ot ...

. It was selected as the Hungarian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for the Oscar at the

90th Academy Awards The 90th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2017, and took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was held on March 4, ...

Alexandra Borbély Alexandra Borbély (born 4 September 1986) is a Slovakian theater and film actress acting in Hungarian films, notable for playing the role of Mária in the film '' On Body and Soul''. Biography She was born in Nitra (then part of Czechoslovak ...

won the European Actress award at the

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...

for her performance in the film.

Plot

Endre, a

at an

abattoir A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

, and Mária, the newly hired quality inspector, experience a recurring dream of being a pair of deer in the forest, though they are not aware that it is a shared dream. Mária is immediately unpopular at work for her autistic behaviour and uncompromising grading of the abattoir's meat quality. Though Endre tries to befriend her, she quickly becomes uncomfortable with the interaction and rudely comments on his lame left arm. However, she repeats the conversation to herself that night, analyzing where she made her mistakes. Meanwhile, the abattoir hires a new butcher, Sanyi, who Endre takes a quick dislike to due to his cocky demeanor and unsympathetic view towards the slaughtered animals. The abattoir is put under investigation when mating powder is stolen from the inventory; Endre and his friend Jenő both suspect that Sanyi is the culprit. A psychologist is hired to perform personality tests on the workers to discover the culprit. The workers are asked questions on the history of their sexuality and physical development, as well as what they dreamed the night before. When Endre and Mária both report the same dream, the psychologist assumes they are playing a prank. Though Endre and Mária are both skeptical, they realize that they are indeed experiencing the same dream and grow closer. Though Mária's behavior temporarily drives Endre away, they eventually form a tight bond. Endre also learns that Jenő stole the mating powder, but chooses not to inform the police as there are no victims, and he apologizes to Sanyi for suspecting him. Endre and Mária decide to fall asleep in the same room one night, but both are unable to sleep. Although she loves him, Mária shuts down when Endre touches her after a night of playing cards, leaving Endre offended and confused. The incident affects Mária, and she begins to open herself up to new experiences and sensations, such as listening to romantic music, watching pornography, and observing couples at the park. However, Endre has grown pessimistic about their budding relationship and calls it off. He sleeps with another woman, though the encounter leaves him disappointed. A devastated Mária prepares to commit suicide at home, calmly slitting her wrist in the bathtub. The suicide is interrupted by Endre calling her, and after a short and awkward conversation, he reveals that he loves her, which Mária reciprocates. After getting her wound bandaged, she goes to Endre's home, where they make love. After falling asleep, they wake up to realize that neither of them dreamed the night before.

Cast

as Mária * Géza Morcsányi as Endre * Réka Tenki as Klára * Zoltán Schneider as Jenő * Ervin Nagy as Sanyi * Itala Békés as Zsóka

Reception

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, the film has an approval rating of 89%, based on 75 reviews, with an average rating of 7.34/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Tender performances and a strong sense of style combine to create an eccentric, dreamy portrait of love and loneliness in ''On Body and Soul''." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a score of 77 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Accolades

References

External links