Film Archive

The Border

Future Frames: Ten New Filmmakers To Follow 2015 / Határ / Hungary 2014

For escaped prisoner Maydan freedom is limited to the small platform of a heavy handcar and to railroad tracks that lead who knows where. The young man is bound to his means of transport by a heavy chain, nevertheless he loses neither hope nor his sense of humor. The film’s inventive pictorial treatment emphasizes the claustrophobia of captivity.

Synopsis

A small handcar transports two passengers: an arrogant guard and his young prisoner, Maydan. Thanks to an accident Maydan loses the guard, but his escape and freedom have little in common. He is still attached to the handcar by a thick chain, and traveling with such a dead weight arouses more attention than the fugitive finds pleasant. The decision, however, has been made and now he must wait to see where the tracks take him – there is no way back. This inventive visual treatment suggestively emphasizes the claustrophobia of captivity, which Maydan faces with courage, charm, and humor.

Anna Kořínek

About the film

24 min / Color, DCP
World premiere
Director Mátyás Szabó / Screenplay Barnabás Szöllősi, Mátyás Szabó / Dir. of Photography Kristóf Deák / Music Ákos Lustyik / Editor Eszter Bodoky / Art Director Dániel Miklós / Production University of Theatre and Film Arts / Coproduction Filmteam / Cast Márton Patkós, Imre Csuja, Franciska Farkas, András Réthelyi / Contact National Film Institute Hungary

About the director

Mátyás Szabó (b. 1987, Budapest, Hungary) studied Slavic culture and aesthetics at Pázmány Péter Catholic University. In 2011 he began film direction studies at the University of Theater and Film Arts in Budapest. His filmography includes the short movies Country of Astronauts (Űrhajósok országa, 2011), Hawaii (2012), and Till My Mom Gets Here (Amíg anyám ideér, 2013).