directed by Márta Mészáros, drama, 104 min, eng subtitles, 16+
written by Éva Pataki, Zoltán Jancsó
with Mari Törőcsik, Franciska Törőcsik, Ildikó Tóth, József Wunderlich, Eva Prosek
The director of 'Adoption' (Golden Bear, Berlinale 1975), 'Nine Months' (Prix FIPRESCI, Cannes 1977) and 'Diary for my Children' (Special Grand Prix of the Jury in Cannes 1984), Márta Mészáros, has, once again, directed a film that examines a social taboo. Aurora Borealis is a family story with plenty of twists taking place on two separate timelines. It analyzes the relationship between a mother and a daughter in great depth. Mária, the elderly mother of Olga, unexpectedly falls into a coma. While Mária is hovering between life and death, Olga comes across a deliberately withheld secret. The increasingly passionate investigation takes her back to the war-ravaged Europe of the 50s. The film sensitively discusses the dramatic situations originating from identity crises in unusual situations, the never-healing wounds caused by the wars of a shattered Europe and the liberation that comes from unveiling lies and suppressions.