Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another way indeed..., June 25, 2003
If you have ever wondered what being gay was like behind the Iron Curtain, then Károly Makk's 'Another Way' is a must to watch. It's the story of two women journalists who find a way to each other's hearts amidst the secrecy, lies and ignorance of Hungary's supposedly, kinder and gentler form of 'goulash socialism,' where you were guaranteed a job and two-weeks vacation just as long as didn't ask too many questions. Just as long as you didn't dig for the truth.Makk artfully intertwines the many strands of his central theme of oppression. A young lesbian writer arrives in Budapest looking for life and the chance to tell the truth about what is happening to her country. She finds works at a prominent newspaper where she immediately falls in love with her married colleague, a dutiful wife of an army officer, who slowly and painfully learns that there is indeed 'another way.' Different than what the party says, different than what her husband dictates. Realizing that she too has fallen in love, she begins a journey into nebulous territory. The young lovers try to live out their love in a world that refuses even to acknowledge the existence of homosexuality. Stuggling to express their passion for each other, the lovers confront the lies that surround them and run head on into the wall of deceit and illusion that all oppressive systems build around themselves. See no evil and hear no evil. Just heterosexual happiness on a five-year plan. Husband, family, party, state. The film is rather withdrawn in its overall depiction of lesbian sexuality. Thus, we have to let our imaginations connect the dots. But Makk shows just how dreary and hopeless it must have been to be 'different' in such a society. Police razzias in the park, shameless and humiliating interrogations at work....how do 'you' do it kinda stuff..... covert dates in dingy, dungeon-like bars hidden beneath train stations..... All part of the sordid story of totalitarianism. While the action is slow and mild by Hollywood standards, the two actresses play their roles with intensity and a delicate erotic touch. If you are expecting a Gia or If these Walls Could Talk story of girl-girl love, then you will be woefully disappointed. No fleshy fireworks or hysterics here, just a truthful portrayal of the costs of saying 'yes'' in a world of 'no'....
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
5 Stars for a Lovely Tragic Story... 0 Stars for this Abominable DVD from Facets/Bunyik, October 24, 2006
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."
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Keeper, April 16, 2001
Set in Hungary shortly after the failure of the revolt of 1956, this beautifully acted love story tells the tale of two women journalists whose affair is thoughtfully mirrored by their newspaper which also struggles with censorship, self-censorship, and the profound desire to tell the truth in the face of harsh oppression--personal politics at its best.
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