Set in Hungary after World War II, this film concerns a doctor and a teenager seeking to fill the void left by the relatives they lost.
Opening in 1948 and closing with Stalin’s death in 1953, “Those Who Remained” unfolds in a Hungary pushing past the end of World War II toward a Communist future. But the trauma of the war and sorrow over the dead lingers for its two main characters, who become part of each other’s lives, more or less as replacements.
Aldo (Karoly Hajduk) is a gynecologist. His tattooed arm offers a clue to where he has been. At one point someone overhears him praying in Hebrew, despite his claim that he is no longer religious. As the film begins, he meets a new patient: Klara (Abigel Szoke), who is almost 16 but whose great-aunt, Olgi (Mari Nagy), is concerned that the girl’s puberty is not progressing. When Klara reveals that her mother hasn’t “come home yet,” Aldo deduces that the problem isn’t physical (although Klara’s reluctance to eat surely doesn’t help).
Both Klara and Olgi, who found her grandniece in an orphanage while looking for other relatives, know that Olgi isn’t cut out to be a parent, or to help Klara with classes she says she is deliberately trying to fail, even though she’s bright enough to read multiple languages. Also, Aldo reminds Klara of her father. Eventually, the three arrange for Klara to sometimes stay with Aldo. He in effect becomes her foster father, but never in official terms, which raises one teacher’s suspicion.
Part of the idea of the film, directed by Barnabas Toth and based on a novel by Zsuzsa F. Varkonyi, is that only survivors could understand the solace that Klara and Aldo find in their tentative parent-daughter bond. “Those Who Remained” leaves much unsaid about their pasts, sometimes at the risk of seeming coy (the word “Jewish” is never spoken). But Hajduk and Szoke are strong performers.
Those Who Remained
Not rated. In Hungarian, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 23 minutes. In theaters.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
