The Notebook

Director: János Szász

Writer: Ágota Kristof

Cast: Piroska Molnár, László Gyémánt, András Gyémánt, Ulrich Matthes, Gyöngyvér Bognár

A loving family is forced apart by the outbreak of World War II but, before leaving to fight, the father gives his twin 13-year-old boys a notebook and instructs them to write down their everyday experiences. They are left with their grandmother in a Hungarian border village but the bitter old woman takes a hostile attitude towards them and, added to the trauma of separation, they experience the violence and cruelty of local life. Adapted from the best-selling novel by Ágota Kristóf, the film shows how the children, transformed by their negative experiences, deliberately inure themselves to physical and emotional pain while also maintaining a mutual identity. János Szász directs with almost clinical precision, with cinematography by Christian Berger (The White Ribbon).

Awards: Karlovy Vary International Filmfestival: Crystal Globe