Sunset review: László Nemes follows up his Oscar-Winning Son Of Saul with a film which offers a different breed of historical drama, one that is equal parts beguiling and frustrating.
Credit: BFI London Film Festival
The year is 1913, Budapest. A young woman, Irisz (Juli Jakab) returns to seek work at the most renowned hat store in the city that was established by her parents before they perished in a fire. Irisz doesn’t receive the warm reception she was expecting, with much mystery surrounding not only her family business, but the crimes of a brother she never knew she had.
Nemes’ Son of Saul was a staggering piece of work, re-telling the holocaust from the perspective of a Hungarian death camp prisoner with a technique that evoked horror genre stylings. Nemes employs a similar perspective here as he follows Irisz through pre-War Budapest, as we follow her vicariously as she begins to gather clues and follow leads. Most of this action is articulated through the use of very long takes that closely follow Irisz, with much of the background action remaining largely out of focus, only narrowing in on details when Irisz herself scrutinizes certain people or places.
The intense nature in which we follow Irisz gives the film a hazy, day-dream-esque atmosphere, enforced by Mátyás Erdély’s hazy and sweltering cinematography. The intensity builds to a point where that day-dream soon turns into a walking nightmare, as the film builds to an inevitably fiery conclusion. It evokes the work of Darren Aronofsky, namely bringing to mind Mother (though it never gets quite as intense as that), in that more and more control feels like it is being lost as the film progresses.
The approach to framing the action keeps things interesting, as does Juli Jakab. Her dark and deep eyes more than accentuate the growing intensity of the film and she is infinitely watchable. Irisz herself is a quitely fascinating character, stubborn and strong-willed, very active in situations when she needs to be, but quick to regress to a passive position should her own self-preservation call for it. It makes for a thought-provoking exploration of agency, set against a seemingly mundane early 20th Century backdrop that is given an almost gothic atmosphere.
Despite Jakab’s eye-catching performance and an intriguing tone, the way in which Sunset lets its story unfold is undoubtedly frustrating. The film is quick to establish that something iffy is afoot, but the way in which Irisz collects her leads and information soon begins to grate. Much of the film involves Irisz asking vague questions only to be met with silent and vacant stares or another even vaguer question. Nemes is so concerned about building mystery that he lays it on a little too thick, leading to a level of ambiguity that more infuriates than it does titillates.
That air of ambiguity hangs until the very last frame, so there’s no doubt that Nemes is probably ok with the fact that the audience gets a little frustrated throughout. It certainly adds to the growing lack of control and nightmare-esque atmosphere of the proceedings, but as a audience member it can be a grievance, leading to a disconnect that can be difficult to reconcile with.
Sunset offers a mystery without many answers along the way, and that can often make the experience frustrating to experience over the course of its two hour and twenty minute run time. But, thanks to its captivating lead and an intriguing enough sense of atmosphere, your attention should just about be kept in check.
Sunset review by Andrew Gaudion, Ocotber 2018.
Sunset was reviewed at the 2018 BFI London Film Festival.
