'On Body and Soul' Review
‘On Body and Soul’ – 5.5/10 Production Companies: Inforg-M&M Film Kft.
This was one of the first films since starting the blog in which we both had different opinions. Meaning that S gave it a 6 and B a 5 so we averaged it out to a 5.5.
‘On Body and Soul’ is a Hungarian movie about a couple who fall in love by having the same dream were they are both deer’s. We believe that the beauty of the deer scenes and the creativity of the symbolism's with the animals were very well used. What makes it great is the existing parallels between the behaviours of both deer’s compared to their representative characters. B affirms that the calmness and tranquillity that the characters transmit comes typically from Eastern Europe cinema and is definitely transmitted here.
We believe that both main characters although having few lines or short lines are very complex and intimate and that you can see the talent they both has as this complexity is shown through their facial expressions and body movement.
This is unquestionably seen through Alexander Borbely’s performance. Although never mentioned but seen throughout the movie, Maria (played by Alexandra Borbely) seems to display many traits of autism and this is mainly seen with her lack of communication skills as well as seeing a therapist and her occurring ticks such as her near obsessive need to clean up her surroundings. The director, Ildiko Enyedi, uses Maria’s obvious traits as nothing but a secondary element without taking away the importance of it, thus not making this a movie about an autistic girl who finds love but a girl who finds love and happens to be autistic.
Being that we are both vegetarians there is a scene in the being of the movie where they slaughter a cow, we hope and think that it wasn’t real. However, this was done for a reason and a very good one might we say. The director decides to make an ironic analogy as the main characters work in a slaughterhouse, yet they fall in love through their dreams of being animals. It’s good, right?
S felt that the cinematography was absolutely phenomenal, especially the scenes shot in the woods with the snow was honestly breath taking and the calmness of it all really did bring the film together. Whereas B believed that it was nice but nothing out of this world. S considers that although it’s a very slow film it is full of emotion and intensity as you form a great bond to the characters. It’s a nice and new fresh love story full of creativity.
And that is where we have our separate ideas as B thought that it was simply just a good love story with some repetitions along the narrative.
Signed, S&B
