Love (1971 film)

Love (Szerelem) is a 1971 Hungarian drama film directed by Károly Makk. Based on two short stories by Tibor Déry, Szerelem (1956) and Két asszony (1962), it stars Lili Darvas and Mari Törőcsik. The film was selected as the Hungarian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 44th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Today, Love is considered a classic of world cinema by critics including Derek Malcolm and Roger Ebert. The film was selected for screening as part of the Cannes Classics section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. It was also chosen to be part of the New Budapest Twelve, a list of Hungarian films considered the best in 2000.

Cast

 * Lili Darvas - Az öregasszony
 * Mari Törőcsik - Luca
 * Iván Darvas - János
 * Erzsi Orsolya - Irén
 * László Mensáros - Az orvos
 * Tibor Bitskey - Feri (as Bitskei Tibor)
 * András Ambrus - Börtönőr
 * József Almási - Tanár
 * Zoltán Bán - Borbély
 * Éva Bányai - Feriék szolgálója
 * Ágnes Dávid - Feriék szolgálója
 * Mária Garamszegi - Feriék szolgálója
 * Alíz Halda - Tanárnő
 * Magda Horváth - Kissné
 * Nóra Káldi - Az öregasszony fiatalon (as Káldy Nóra)

Historical background
In 1953 after the death of Soviet premier Joseph Stalin many arrested people were released in Hungary. In Love, Makk tells the story of a young Hungarian woman whose husband has been arrested by the secret police, and who eases his mother's last months with the tale that her son is in America.

Reception
Love won three prizes, including the Jury Prize at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival. It has also been acclaimed in recent years; Derek Malcolm ranked it one of The Guardian's 100 best films of the 20th century.