1945
A very quiet and understated picture. Its purpose is entirely to reveal the complicity, guilt, and regret of a small Hungarian town that profited from the expulsion of its Jewish population. It is a sad film, as solemn as its subject matter. The story never strives to be a searing exposé but instead unfolds as a slow, truthful unravelling of a morally corrupt, nameless town.
Why nameless and featureless? Because this town represents many towns across Europe. Untold millions quietly profited from the destruction of the Jews. They moved into their homes, took over their shops, and built their lives on the remains of others.
This is an important film because the subject matter is rarely dramatised. For a number of reasons, I imagine. Namely, what national cinema would encourage a scathing critique of its own country? The past is the past. Leave it where it belongs. I can tell you secondhand that, unlike Germany, there are few Eastern European countries willing to confront their complicity and profit from wholesale slaughter. This guilt may have died with a generation, but their stories must live on.
The Jewish population of Poland in 1938 was 3.3 million. Ten percent survived. Those who did return to Poland or other Eastern European countries found themselves caught in a region-wide pogrom. Many survived the entirety of the war only to return home and be shot dead by their neighbours. Today, Poland’s Jewish population is estimated between 7,000 and 40,000. The Jewish cemetery of my grandfather’s hometown lies in ruin. Their stories erased by time and quiet complicity.
The content of this piece is certainly more engaging than its telling, but it is an important film nonetheless due to its unique perspective.
1945 – a contained narrative of life immediately following the war.
Filmmaking Notes
The blocking felt stilted at times. My guess is that this was due to budgetary limitations and a need for long, quiet scenes to play out in singular takes. Or maybe I’m wrong, and this was just a choice. A substitute for heightened character intrigue was often sit down, then stand up, then take a glass of water, then consider turning off the radio. Had the film spent more time in close-up and less in long-running mid to wide shots, I think it would have had a stronger effect.
I would have liked to see a richer interplay between characters. The minimalist approach to storytelling was well executed, just not my style. The filmmakers found a tone, stuck to it, and told their story effectively.
I did find a dissonance between the score and the picture. I’ll admit my ignorance here—nothing in the score rang a bell as a clear influence. It seemed tied more to theme than to the scenes themselves. A subtle reflection of the simmering guilt beneath the town’s innocent veneer.
