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Movie making is political; it can work to support self-gratifying nationalistic pride or it can tear apart the dominant narrative. This is what this courageous movie is all about. In Viktor Orb†n's Hungary that has made anti-LGBTQ rhetoric a staple of its politics, "Without Air" shows how a high-school literature teacher, Ana, can see her whole future unravel due to a controversy over a film she recommends to her class.
The film depicts the progressive ostracization of the teacher, whether because of fear, or because of opinions, or conformism. One after another, the school's administration, the city, and the parents fall in line against her. Let us not kid ourselves, every teacher that has tried at some point, in any country, to stray from political correctness must have felt at some level, a similar type of pressure.
"You are paid to teach values, to impart the right standards," is what a popular literature teacher hears from the ethics board after she recommends to her senior high school students to watch Agnieszka Holland's film "Total Eclipse" about the lives of French poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine, at the end of a class on symbolism. But an influential and very conservative parent finds it unacceptable -- the two poets had a homosexual relationship -- and he files a complaint against her.
Initially, the incident is downplayed by the school's director, who appreciates Ana for her successful work over the years. "A parent considers that you have crossed the red line," she tells Ana, "but I have done it for years and it's never been a problem. Is it one for you?" Little by little Ana's professional surrounding reveals itself in a way she would not have anticipated. Some are jealous and hateful, other afraid for their standing; most are so prudent they become cowards.
In a Nov. 13 2023 interview with CineEuropa, director Katalin Moldovai said that her film's scenario is based on a true story that took place in Romania where she grew up among the local Hungarian minority. She decided that it would be a good topic for a film because of its hidden depths. "I wanted most of all to deal with this fear that courses through the entire film because I think that in Romania, in Hungary, and in Eastern Europe in general, we lived for a long time under a communist dictatorship and its influence on society doesn't fade away so easily. When events such as those shown in the film happen, there's a tendency to recreate that atmosphere, to reproduce it," she said. Of course, the topic of freedom of expression is not confined to Eastern Europe.
The character of Ana, played by a very believable Agnes Krasznahorkai, is well developed and other issues are tackled as the narrative unfolds. Ana's partner has emigrated to another country to find a better job and in his self-centered way of trying to convince her to join him, he totally misses her difficulties. She is also in charge of an aging mother who is slowly losing her cognitive abilities.
Moldovai explains that the scenario of the movie was written in 2019, before Viktor Orb†n's 2021 law that censors any LGBT+ positive content in movies, books or public advertisements. The law also restricts sex education in school, forbidding any information thought to encourage gender change or homosexuality. She adds that is it now even more complicated for teachers to know what to say and how to say it. She believes that it leads to a form of self-censorship.
The film is appropriate for adults and teenagers, and it could spark interesting conversations. It opens on Aug 16; for hours and tickets, go to www.orindamovies.com/
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA