Father

1966

1h 28m

Drama

List

100%

Tomatometer

5 Reviews

79%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

When young Tako's father dies in Hungary in 1945, Tako is left with scant memories of him. Nurtured by his mother, the boy nonetheless fantasizes about the man his father was, imagining him to have been a hero. Grown into a man himself, Tako (Andras Balint) falls for a Jewish refugee, Anni (Kati Solyom). Burdened by her own heritage as a Jew, Anni sparks in Tako a desire to find out what his father was really like, and he delves into the role his father played in World War II.

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Variety Staff

Variety

This is real, solid, moving yet unsentimental stuff, and it's beautifully illustrated as well by Sandor Sara's camerawork with its nostalgic glimpses of the past.

Mar 26, 2009

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Richard F. Shepard

New York Times

A beautiful study of the need for heritage.

May 9, 2005

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Penelope Houston

The Spectator

When it's good, though, Szabo's film is very good indeed.

Apr 25, 2016

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David Parkinson

Radio Times

A visually audacious yet highly personal study of the uneasy relationship between postwar Hungary and its past.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 25, 2016

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TV Guide

Told without sentiment, Father is a truly moving picture about a young man's attempt to find, not his father, but himself.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 25, 2016

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Audience Member

Father is a bit strange for me to watch so no thanks it doesn’t look funny

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

05/18/18

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Audience Member

I cannot not cry, Hungarian history big time, great acting, and great director. One of the best Szabo movie ever.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Audience Member

A boring, black-and-white foreign film about a young man who comes of age in postwar Hungary after the death of his father, who he idealizes and makes up stories about. It was a clock-watching drag of a film that, at 96 minutes, was about 76 minutes too long. Kept hoping Mike Myers would suddenly appear as Dieter and say "This film reaches down my pants and taunts me."

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

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Audience Member

SzabÃ³ IstvÃ¡n szvsz legjobb filmje

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

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Audience Member

one of the best film about living in eastern europe after world war II.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

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Audience Member

Really inventive early gem from director Istvan Szabo explores invention and memory as a boy reinvents his dead father's life to equate all that is good and heroic in post-WWII Hungary. The film builds in power as you realize he's also re-imagining Hungarian history itself. The film within a film depicting the forced march of Hungarian Jews to their slaughter, as enacted by bored 1960s Hungarians, is simply mesmerizing, along with the grown boy's easy switching of sides.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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István Szabó

Director

Miklos Gabor

Apa

Andras Balint

Takó Bence

Klari Tolnay

Anya

Daniel Erdelyi

A gyerek Takó

Kati Solyom

Anni

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Synopsis

When young Tako's father dies in Hungary in 1945, Tako is left with scant memories of him. Nurtured by his mother, the boy nonetheless fantasizes about the man his father was, imagining him to have been a hero. Grown into a man himself, Tako (Andras Balint) falls for a Jewish refugee, Anni (Kati Solyom). Burdened by her own heritage as a Jew, Anni sparks in Tako a desire to find out what his father was really like, and he delves into the role his father played in World War II.

Director: István Szabó
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Hungarian
Release Date (Streaming): May 5, 2017
Runtime: 1h 28m

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