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U.S. Theatrical Premiere
Delta
WINNER
FIPRESCI Prize NOMINATED Golden Palm Cannes Film Fest
"A beautifully atmospheric vessel" -Variety
"Beautifully shot, with an impressive feel for the poetry of faces and natural phenomena. Mr. Mundruczó's deft use of sound...suggests emotions that his characters are too taciturn to articulate" -New York Times
"Sliding forward with the grim finality of Greek tragedy, this largely wordless Hungarian drama is powered by the tension between its idyllic setting and its disturbing subject matter... Think Deliverance on the Danube, and without the catharsis" -Chicago Reader
Recommended! "Adrift on atmosphere and sublime visual beauty, Delta...goes for the eyes and the gut" -NewCity Chicago
"A deliberately paced parable of desire and dread... Like [Béla] Tarr, the young director can conjure an atmosphere of beauty and horror" -TimeOut Chicago
"Powerful" -Chicago Tribune
Kornél Mundruczó's Delta is a disquieting, intimate drama that plays out on an isolated delta landscape along the Danube River. After a decades-long absence, a young man Félix Lajkó returns to his mother's home situated within the labyrinth of waterways, small islands and over-grown vegetation that buffers the delta and its denizens from the outside world. There he finds a sister he never knew he had and they become unusually close, so much so that they decide to build a home. However, Their "unnatural" relationship soon becomes the subject of village gossip and a housewarming party leads to tragic consequences.
Mundruczó's visually stunning film fulfils his earlier promise (Pleasant Days, Johanna) with a spare, beautifully paced work worthy of the great traditions of Hungarian cinema. Dealing with the eternal themes of human nature, Mundruczó makes striking use of the waterways and small islands of his unusual landscape. Delta is also a story of perseverance and Mundruczó had his film nearly complete when original lead Lajos Bertók died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Regardless, Mundruczó pushed on, re-writing part of the film with screenwriter Yvette Biro and re-shooting most of it with Félix Lajkó in Bertok's place. The replacement actor brought not only a new face to Delta, but also a new sound -- a famed musician, Lajkó composed the film's distinct soundtrack, in this lush fable of forbidden desire.
Directed by Kornél Mundruczó, 2008, Hungary/Germany, 35mm, 96 mins. In Hungarian with English subtitles