JUST THE WIND

Relentless mood piece demands a lot from its audience. (Review by John Harley)

Just The Wind was seen on the Durban International Film Festival. Directed by Bence Fliegauf with screenplay by Bence Fliegauf and cinematography by Zolton Lovasi, the film stars Katalina Toldi, Gyongyi Lendval, Lajos Sarkany and Gyorgyi Toldi.

Mari lives with her invalid father and two children in a Romany community next to a forest. For centuries their kind has been referred to as gypsies and now, more than ever, they must exist in a state of utmost stealth.

Five families in the area have already been gunned down in their homes, and every Romany family now lives in fear of being next. The film opens in a most haunting manner and immediately settles into an almost excruciatingly level of intensity and dark, brooding tension that never let's up throughout the entire movie.

This highly depressive mood overwhelms every aspect of the film and is reflected in the music and sound effects, the lighting, the camera shots and even the manner in which the characters are portrayed - stark, expressionless faces (almost deadpan), with body movements that verge on the robotic.

The entire film is essentially mood-driven, creating a dark, suspenseful sense of impending doom. This stark, somber mood just never lets up, reflecting just one day in the lives of this poor unfortunate family, a day that goes full circle and ends in the most horrific way possible. This one day is depicted in a mundane, almost lifeless manner- a joyless day in their otherwise meager and seemingly meaningless existence.

As events unfold and this almost unbearable sense of tension and suspense is imposed on the audience, one could sense them getting more and more agitated, shifting in their seats (several even walking out); waiting desperately for something to happen! Anything! Inevitably the question arises here, how long is it viable to hold such a tension line before you lose your audience altogether? I too, began to get a sense that the director is overplaying his hand and that this sense of foreboding just could not be sustained much longer!

Just when one was about to give up, the audience is released in a most dramatic and sudden way, and a wave of relief sweeps the auditorium! Yet, even this high impact moment, is handled in a matter of seconds, and the original mood is instantaneously restored ....as the movie finally ends.

This is a film was inspired by real events and demands a lot of its audience. It is relentless, and captures a very, very dark vision of our world indeed. See it, but be forewarned - brace yourself! – John Harley