Évforduló: A dusty, talky look at old-school marriage

Is it worth your time?

If you have a soft spot for 1930s European dramas, maybe. If you need something with a fast pace or actual stakes, skip it. This is strictly for the folks who like watching people sit around in drawing rooms talking about their feelings for an hour.

There is a specific kind of rhythm to these old films. It’s all very polite. Everyone is always wearing a suit, even when they’re clearly annoyed at their spouse. It makes the whole thing feel like a performance.

The vibe is... very interior

The movie feels like a stage play that someone forgot to adapt for the camera. You spend so much time looking at the same wallpaper. I found myself staring at a lamp in the background for a solid minute just to stay awake.

There’s a scene about halfway through where someone is pacing back and forth. They pace for so long it becomes a character in itself. I half-expected the floorboards to start creaking in protest. It's not necessarily bad, but it’s definitely stuck in its own head.

Compared to the competition

It doesn't have the grit you’d find in The Sawmill Four. It’s much tidier. Maybe too tidy. It lacks that messy, real-world texture that makes a movie stick to your ribs after the credits roll.

Watching Antal Páger work is usually a treat, though. He has this way of looking at a co-star that suggests he knows exactly how much of a nuisance they are, even if he’s being perfectly gentlemanly. It’s the small stuff like that which kept me from checking my watch.

• The lighting is very high-contrast, which is fun if you like black and white photography.
• The dialogue is dense. Don't look away for a second or you'll miss a whole subplot.
• The ending feels like it just... stopped. Not a resolution, just a pause.

It’s not quite as energetic as Quick. That one had a certain zip to it that this one just doesn't bother with. *Évforduló* prefers to simmer. Sometimes it simmers so long the water boils away entirely. ☕️

I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. It's a relic. A well-made relic, sure, but it feels like something meant to be watched on a rainy Tuesday when you’ve run out of better things to do. If you like the style of Better Movies, you might find this familiar enough to enjoy.