Another Way
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Movie Reviews of Another Way
Movie Review: good historical perspective
Summary: 4 Stars
Under the influence of communism the view of homosexuality is very contrary to the western view shared today. There are still countries that treat homosexuality as depicted in this film, a definite must for the person interested in historical persepectives on the subject.
Wonderfully acted and cinematography.
Movie Review: 5 Stars for a Lovely Tragic Story... 0 Stars for this Abominable DVD from Facets/Bunyik
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a lovely, tragic tale set in Hungary in the dark years following the 1956 Hungarian Uprising. Outspoken idealist and pro-democracy activist, Eva, is finally able to land a job as a newspaper reporter after being blacklisted for 2 years following the crackdown. She meets fellow reporter, Livia, quietly married to a Hungarian Army Captain. Eva is lesbian and flaunts it openly. She finds herself attracted to Livia. She instigates a relationship, which after initial hesitation is reciprocated. Tragedy ensues when Livia decides to leave her marriage for her lesbian lover.
Both leads are not only beautiful but fine actresses in their own right. Jadwiga Jankowska-Cieslak deservedly won the Best Actress honour at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival for her role as Eva, but I thought Grazyna Szapolowska was equally deserving in her role as Livia. The lesbian scenes are very tastefully done yet still very erotic. The film itself won the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes. This film is definitely worth watching but the Region 1 DVD is not recommendable.
The DVD from Facets/Bunyik is a disaster. The film is presented in its original 1.66:1 widescreen. Contrary to the 16X9 label on the back cover, it is non-anamorphic (Not enhanced for widescreen TV). Instead the film has been windowboxed into a 4X3 frame, with thick black bars on all four sides leaving a rectangular window in the centre for the picture. Print quality is bad. Dirt and grain is obvious in the brighter portions. The picture is very soft, occasionally blurry. It looks like a VHS tape. Sound quality is horrendous. The film was dubbed post-production and lip-synching is far from ideal but I'm willing to let that by. What is unbearable is that the volume levels have not been properly equalised. Anything spoken above normal levels becomes unbearably loud, as are all the sound effects and music. Normal speech is near inaudible unless you turn the volume up. The English subtitles are permanently burnt onto the print. Disgraceful. This is the last time I'll buy anything from this company.
The only good thing Facets/Bunyik provided is the 7-minute interview with Karoly Makk where he talks about the movie, the book on which it is based and his cluelessness about lesbianism when he first decided to make the film. Eva's interrogation scene with the bemused policeman is based on Makk's own interrogation of a lesbian friend about how lesbians "do it". Her irritated reply, immortalised in the film: "With One Finger, Two Fingers, and Three Fingers, you stupid idiot."