Directed by Barnabás Tóth
Hungary, 2019
Drama
Hungarian (with English subtitles)
83 minutes
Having survived the camps, 42-year old Aldo lives a solitary life as a doctor in Budapest. 16-year old Klara lives reluctantly with her great-aunt, holding on to hope that her father and mother will return. She meets Aldo, and soon the two of them find something in each other that has long been absent in their lives.
As they grow closer and closer, the joy in both of their lives slowly returns. But as the Soviet Empire rises to power in Hungary, their pure and loving father-daughter relationship is misunderstood and frowned upon.
A lyrical story of the healing power of love in the midst of conflict, loss and trauma, Those Who Remained reveals the healing process of Holocaust survivors through the eyes of a young girl in post-World War II Hungary.
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"Exquisite! The most surprising performance (of Telluride)—not just surprising but inexplicably beautiful—was that of Abigél Szõke in “Those Who Remained.” I do love it when, to cite the modest yet magical case of “Those Who Remained,” whole lives, including ours, can be changed in less than an hour and a half."
- Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal
"A revelation! Perceptively directed by Barnabás Tóth, this exquisite, poignantly performed tale taps into a deep well of honestly earned emotion." - Alissa Simon, Variety
"Terrific! A finely-tuned post-Holocaust tale that is quite compelling. Made and acted with unemphatic precision, this marks Tóth as a talent to watch." - Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter
"Remarkable! A film suffused with sensitivity and humanity, demonstrating a talent for elegant and classical direction which turns its back on the ostentatious and the overly dramatic, favouring instead the subtle and positive variations of the dance of life."
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT: For me, this film is, first of all, a hymn, an ode to a man who is totally wrecked but pulls himself together for one last time to save another half-destroyed soul. We've seen so many films about what happened before and during the Holocaust, but so few have shown us the fate of those who remained with us, those who came back. - Barnabás Tóth
Those Who Remained
Awards
Official Selection
Telluride Film Festival
Shortlist Selection (Hungary)
Best International Feature Film
92nd Academy Awards
Winner of 4 Hungarian Film Academy Awards, including
- BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR
- Best Director (Barnabás Tóth)
- Best Screenplay (Barnabás Tóth and Klara Muhi)
- Best Actor (Károly Hajduk)
Winner - Narrative Jury Prize
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival 2020
Grand Prize (Best Narrative Feature), Anchorage International Film Festival 2019
Audience Award for Best Feature -
Spokane Jewish Cultural Film Festival