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SYNOPSIS:
What is an attractive, thirtysomething woman to do who is
fed up with dating but is desperate to have a child?
This dilemma is certainly shared by many women from Moscow
to New York. Dora works as a dramaturge at a Budapest theatre.
She breaks up with her fiance when she finds out he has a
wife and a kid. Frustrated and disappointed, she decides to
have nothing to do with men and led a meaningful life alone.
Listening to her biological clock, Dora decides to get pregnant
and bring up her child all by herself. Pursuing her aim, she
turns to internet dating, sperm bank even picks up the handsome
counter boy at the local Turkish fast food joint.
Her life is made miserable by Tamas, the new member of the
theatre who plays the male lead in Dangerous Liaisons that
Dora has adapted to the stage. Tamas is the embodiment of
everything Dora can't stand in men: cocky, ruthless, a charming
but insufferable womanizer. Dora's profound dilemma is how
to make peace with her past littered with failed relationships
and yet be open to future opportunities to find a partner.
MOVIE
REVIEW
Having braved the cinemas recently to watch women centered movies like All About Women, The Secret Life of Bees and Sex and the City, this reviewer would think that he has attained a higher level of understanding about the opposite sex. So, when this Krisztina Goda directed comedy fell into his hands, his first reaction was: “If I have seen one, I have seen them all”. Alas, by the 97th minute of this Hungarian comedy, he was left mystified by the strange species that are women again.
Our heroine this time is a 30 something woman who gets cheated by her fiancé who, gasp, is married to another woman. The theatre actress gets upset by the state of things and becomes worried about her age catching up. As fate would have it, her leading man in an upcoming theatre performance comes into her life and, well, has life changing consequences despite his typical male machismo.
As you’d guess it, everything gets a happy fairytale ending by the time the end credits roll. While the DVD cover tells us that this is the “top Hungarian comedy of 2006”, we didn’t find ourselves rolling on the floor with laughter as expected. For a movie which talks about sex (at one point, our heroine looks for men just to have sex for enjoyment, not commitment), we’d expect a lot more. Besides, the NC-16 (scene of intimacy and nudity) would have told you that this won’t be one outrageous affair.
To be fair, this movie does shed some light (if you male readers don’t know already) about what women have in their minds. Sure, they may look strong and capable on the surface, but beneath that is, hold your breath now, a die hard romantic looking for a soul mate. See how this movie’s leading ladies go about their hectic lifestyles to cope with the emotional trauma when it comes to men.
And before this reviewer gets slammed for his dangerously feminist comments, he shall proceed to comment on the cast’s performances. There is no lack of flesh baring here, and points go to the leading woman and man Judit Schell and Sandor Csanyi for effectively portraying their hilarious characters. Certain scenes play out to great comedic effect, thanks to the duo’s chemistry.
Points also go to the comedy’s country of origin Hungary. We do not get many Hungarian productions here in Singapore, but this movie has illustrated the fact that no matter what country women come from, there is this set of elusive but universal traits that men need to understand and know more about.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
This Code 3 disc contains no special features.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
There is nothing to complain about the disc’s visual transfer, and the movie is presented in its original Hungarian Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
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