Sunset (2018 film)

Sunset (Napszállta) is a 2018 Hungarian historical drama film co-written and directed by László Nemes. It is set in Budapest before World War I, starring newcomer Juli Jakab and Vlad Ivanov. It premiered at the 75th Venice International Film Festival and was also screened at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. It was selected as the Hungarian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.

Plot
1913, Budapest, in the heart of Europe. The young Irisz Leiter arrives in the Hungarian capital with high hopes to work as a milliner at the legendary hat store that belonged to her late parents. She is nonetheless sent away by the new owner, Oszkár Brill. While preparations are under way at the Leiter hat store to host guests of uttermost importance, a man abruptly comes to Irisz looking for a certain Kálmán Leiter. Refusing to leave the city, the young woman follows Kálmán's tracks, her only link to a lost past. Her quest brings her through the dark streets of Budapest, where only the Leiter hat store shines, into the turmoil of a civilization on the eve of its downfall.

Development
The film received €5 million from the Hungarian National Film Fund and the project is produced by Gabor Sipos and Gabor Rajna through Laokoon Filmgroup. Sunset is being sold and co-produced by French outfit Films Distribution. The film is expected to get support also from Eurimages.

Casting
Juli Jakab, who plays the protagonist of the film, was chosen among more than 1,000 Hungarian actresses.

Filming
Shooting took place between 12 June and 2 September 2017 in Hungary.

Release
Sunset premiered in competition at the 75th Venice International Film Festival on 2 September 2018. The film was released in Hungary on 27 September 2018.

Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on  reviews, with an average rating of. The site's critical consensus says, "Sunset (Napszállta) struggles to fill its runtime with consistently compelling drama, but uses one woman's experiences to convincingly capture a society at a crossroads." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 based on 23 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Accolades
At the Venice Film Festival, the film won the FIPRESCI Award.