The Door (2012) Reviews

• sad but beautiful story

  katja26842013-09-22

  I found this movie stunning. It transmits such a bittersweet feeling, sadness combined with a certain peace of mind, of heart perhaps... It's a movie that teaches you that you shouldn't be afraid of death,that loneliness,illness,the loss of beloved relatives can be worse than death. This movie tells you that you should never give up,and the main character, Emerenc's path is an example.She's a strong and straightforward woman, very decided when it comes to protect her intimacy and her memories from youth. She's helpful and loyal though cruel and blunt sometimes,she hides her feelings but they burst out in some wonderful scenes like the one with the china dog or the dinner where Evike never showed up. Best movie I've seen this year,the music and the lightning are extraordinary. The director, Szabo Istvan is entitled to receive many more credits than it had received until now.

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• A fine film from a great European director

  liehtzu2013-02-17

  Szabo Istvan is not a contemplative filmmaker - which I don't really mean as an insult. A lot of "contemplative" filmmakers, at their worst, seem constipated more than anything (see some of the films of Szabo's younger countryman, Tarr Bela), whereas Szabo can achieve a forward propulsion that can at times be dazzling, as in the films with scenery-chewing actor Klaus Maria Brandeur that were the height of his international fame, or in "Being Julia." The director has a peculiar way of editing that has existed from his early Hungarian features ("Father," "25 Fireman's Street"); scenes often end abruptly, as though he had chopped the end off them, and then run to the next scene. This gives Szabos' films an odd rhythm that is alluring in his best work, but maddening and even incoherent in his less successful efforts. "The Door" is not a peak; it is hardly a failure either. It shows the Szabo style at its best and worst. The dialogue is flung out by the actors, and can have the kind of hard brilliance that's found in the old screwball comedies (Helen Mirren, in what may be the best performance of her career as an astonishingly cantankerous old cleaning woman, has some especially hilarious insults and bitter, sour-faced advice-dispensing here), but much of it is also simply hard to catch. The movie keeps a fine, sprinting pace most of the way through. It only starts to crumble in the final quarter, at which point I admit I wasn't entirely sure what was going on. And here we have the failure of Szabo's films uncontemplative style. Watching his less successful films it is as if his producer has told him that he absolutely must clock in at under a certain time. "The Door" feels rushed; it hurries to the end, and suffers for it. One feels the same in other films directed by Szabo: "Taking Sides," which is gripping and interesting but finally frustrating, and the ambitious "Sunshine," which attempts to stuff Hungarian history from the late 19th century to the post-war era in under three hours. Still, "The Door" is almost a great film from one of the last living European film directors of the old school. All of Szabo's work is worth seeking out. It's a shame that the few remaining filmmakers in the grand European style are marginalized - even when they make fine English-language movies with Oscar winners (see also Tavernier's "In the Electric Mist"), it's lucky if these see the light of day in most countries, while young "provocateurs" with nothing to say are lauded in the major festivals. And there's something at my local cinema titled "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters"...

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• great

  Kirpianuscus2016-11-20

  the definitions are not the inspired way to describe this special film. because it is a return to the small things who are too precious and fragile for be parts of a definition. and because the acting is , in this case, not exactly good or remarkable or impressive or seductive or precise. it is only is. sure, the axis is the work of Hellen Mirren. but her admirable performance gives opportunity to discover the sides of story in the right light. and to her partners to build solid characters. it is a film about a meet and memories and tragic decisions and the present who preserves old scarfs. and about the silence inside the words. a film from the East because the East is the best embroidery of old dramatic stories and immortal memories. a film for reflect, understand and admire. and about trust. and friendship. and the bitter beauty of solitude.

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• Helen Mirren

  Vincentiu2013-08-30

  she is the star. but in different mode. axis of story, her character is a pillar and window. the performance - long delicate precise chain of nuances is not a surprise. but the impression of new is powerful not only for the Hungarian soul of story, for the normal question why she accepts perform in a Central European film - her origins are not far than Mitteleurope, but for the excellent work. it is a beautiful film and the work of each actor is admirable. but she is the sun ray who gives something unique at all. and this is basic fact who recommend it. a detail who remember not the talent or the prizes, roles or genius but something special because her presence in cast is not a solution for advertising or clue for public but the perfect ingredient for an excellent show. a film about the past as skin of present. and a door. it is all.

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• A Rare Gem

  esteemdancers-12014-09-21

  A few times in ones lifetime they have the great fortune to discover a Jewel of a film. This movie is a Rare Gem. Few films are made with such passion and beauty. You must watch this movie. However you do not watch it as much as you savor it as you would a fine wine. The synopsis for this movie states, "This is a story of a special relationship between two women, a writer and her maid." I was curious as to why it was so minimized a synopsis. Upon viewing the movie after only 25 minutes it was so clear to me why. There are not words precious enough to describe the synopsis/plot of this story. Relationships as complex, beautiful and enduring as that which exist between these two women are beyond explanation. Starring Helen Mirren and Martina Gedeck.

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