Politics are the enemy in Gábor Reisz’s Explanation for Everything, an ambitious, entertaining effort from the Hungarian filmmaker to address the crisis of divisiveness in his country. Filmed with little care for catering to audiences outside Hungary who may not grasp its political reference points––a welcome choice that lets viewers pick up on things as the film proceeds––Reisz gradually sets the scene for one small, key moment that snowballs into a national scandal. Starting out as an awkward comedy, the film builds itself up into one long, exasperated scream at the absurdity of how almost everything can be weaponized into political issues.
Split into chapters, Explanation for Everything looks at several days from the perspective of three interconnected characters. The first is Ábel (Gáspár Adonyi-Walsh), a high school senior studying for his exams when he realizes he’s in love with his classmate Janka (Lilla Kizlinger). After...
Split into chapters, Explanation for Everything looks at several days from the perspective of three interconnected characters. The first is Ábel (Gáspár Adonyi-Walsh), a high school senior studying for his exams when he realizes he’s in love with his classmate Janka (Lilla Kizlinger). After...
- 9/6/2023
- by C.J. Prince
- The Film Stage
If we’ve learned anything from the last few years of polarized political discourse surrounding everything from gun control to gender identity, it’s that when somebody pulls out the “won’t somebody please think of the children” card, the children are rarely the first thing on their mind. Even as it plays out on a specifically Hungarian social landscape, the satire of Gábor Reisz’s astute, drily funny third feature “Explanation for Everything” — in which an underachieving high-schooler becomes a right-wing cause célèbre on the strength of some dicey tabloid reporting — resonates more widely. Escalatingly absurd but underpinned by a mordant plausibility throughout, this confidently imposing work is among the high points of this year’s Orizzonti sidebar at Venice.
Reisz scored a domestic hit, and made a strong impression on the international festival circuit, with his 2014 debut, the endearingly scruffy quarter-life crisis comedy “For Some Inexplicable Reason.” His...
Reisz scored a domestic hit, and made a strong impression on the international festival circuit, with his 2014 debut, the endearingly scruffy quarter-life crisis comedy “For Some Inexplicable Reason.” His...
- 9/6/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Explanation for Everything, Hungarian director Gabor Reisz’s third feature (after For Some Inexplicable Reason and Bad Poems), is set very specifically in present-day Budapest.
The talky script, which revolves around an argument between a high-school student and his family over a remark made by a teacher during the student’s final oral exam, makes many references to events and people from Hungary’s history and current political scene — most of which, apart from the country’s neo-fascist Prime Minister Victor Orban, will be unfamiliar to viewers beyond Central Europe. And yet the core conflicts depicted here between generations, and especially between left- and right-wing citizens, will be immediately familiar to viewers everywhere, particularly in places like the United States, Brazil, Italy or Israel, where political polarization has become even more acute and rancorous. Much like some of the naturalistic, dialectical dramas from Romania, which this resembles, Reisz’s work...
The talky script, which revolves around an argument between a high-school student and his family over a remark made by a teacher during the student’s final oral exam, makes many references to events and people from Hungary’s history and current political scene — most of which, apart from the country’s neo-fascist Prime Minister Victor Orban, will be unfamiliar to viewers beyond Central Europe. And yet the core conflicts depicted here between generations, and especially between left- and right-wing citizens, will be immediately familiar to viewers everywhere, particularly in places like the United States, Brazil, Italy or Israel, where political polarization has become even more acute and rancorous. Much like some of the naturalistic, dialectical dramas from Romania, which this resembles, Reisz’s work...
- 9/1/2023
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hungarian director’s third film explores the tensions of a polarised society.
Films Boutique has boarded international sales on Hungarian director Gábor Reisz’s Explanation For Everything which will world premiere in the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section.
Written and directed by Reisz and co-written with Éva Schulze, Explanation For Everything is set during a summer in Budapest. High school student Abel is struggling to focus on his final exams, while coming to the realisation that he is hopelessly in love with his best friend Janka.
Explanation For Everything is one of 18 titles playing in Horizons. When announcing the Venice line-up yesterday,...
Films Boutique has boarded international sales on Hungarian director Gábor Reisz’s Explanation For Everything which will world premiere in the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section.
Written and directed by Reisz and co-written with Éva Schulze, Explanation For Everything is set during a summer in Budapest. High school student Abel is struggling to focus on his final exams, while coming to the realisation that he is hopelessly in love with his best friend Janka.
Explanation For Everything is one of 18 titles playing in Horizons. When announcing the Venice line-up yesterday,...
- 7/26/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.