Confidence

A film about two people shut in a room in occupied Hungary. The end of 1944. Kata comes home and cannot find her family; her husband has had to go into hiding and she has to do the same. A contact gives her a new identity and puts her in a room. There is a man in the room: János. The two will appear to be husband and wife. They do not know each other. They do not even know each other's real names and must not learn them; if one is caught, they could give the other away. The subject is trust. János is constantly suspicious, questions her, stops her going out. Kata resists and then accepts. A relationship forms between them, but how much of it is real and how much comes out of fear is not clear. The narrative takes place almost entirely in that room. There is a war outside, but in the film we hear it only through sound and conversation. Ildikó Bánsági plays Kata and Péter Andorai plays János. István Szabó directed. The film won the best director prize in Berlin and was nominated for the foreign film Oscar. A strong example for anyone who likes European cinema and psychological drama. For a viewer expecting incident, the film proceeds in one room, with two people, entirely on a tense silence.