A poignant Hungarian drama directed by István Szabó. Takó (Daniel Erdely) lost his father (Miklos Gabor) in World War II and – with only three memories of him – invents a fantasy figure of who his father might have been. We see these heroic childhood fantasies played out in suitably childish, boys’-own action sequences that are contrasted with the reality of the child’s actual life. His idealised dream sequences – a source of comfort and a way of coping with bereavement – play out against the real-world political changes occurring in Hungary after the war.
The second half of the film shows an older version of Takó (now played by András Bálint) as a student in 1956, at the time of the Hungarian Uprising, still trying to come to terms with who his father was and trying to figure out why this question has been so central to his life.
It’s a terribly sad film that’s not without moments of gentle comedy. The childhood part of the story is more effective and engaging than the grown-up section of the narrative, but both parts work well. The film would be better appreciated with a deeper understanding of Hungarian history than I was able to bring to it.
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