Watching Én voltam: A relic from another time

Should you watch Én voltam? If you are the kind of person who enjoys tracking down obscure, dusty titles just to see how they handle a scene, then sure. Grab a coffee and settle in. If you want something that moves fast or feels modern? Absolutely not. This will feel like watching paint dry on a velvet curtain.

There is a specific kind of intensity to these older performances. Ferenc Kiss carries the screen like he’s trying to hold up the ceiling with his eyebrows alone. It is heavy. It is dramatic. It is very much of its era.

I found myself getting distracted by the lighting in the third act. There is a lamp in the background that seems to have a mind of its own, flickering just enough to be annoying. Why didn't they fix that? Maybe they didn't notice. Maybe they didn't care. The imperfection is actually the best part of the whole experience.

The dialogue moves with the speed of a tired horse. Sometimes the actors pause so long between lines that I checked my phone to see if the stream had frozen. It hadn't. That’s just the pace. You either lean into it or you turn it off.

It reminded me a little of The End of the World in how it treats its stakes. Everything feels like the world is collapsing, even when it’s just two people having a polite argument in a drawing room. It’s a very specific brand of high-stakes boredom.

Some random notes I scribbled:

• The coats. Everyone wears these massive, heavy wool coats that look itchy just to look at.
• Piroska Vaszary is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.
• The framing of the doorway in the library scene makes everyone look tiny. It’s weird.

Honestly, the movie gets better when it stops trying to be so serious and just lets the characters exist. But that only happens for about five minutes in the middle. The rest of the time? It’s just people looking tragic while standing near fireplaces.

I wouldn't call this a masterpiece. I wouldn't call it a chore, either. It’s just… there. A piece of history that probably doesn't mind being forgotten, but is happy to be seen if you’re bored enough to click play. 🎞️