06.01.06
SIFF 2006, day 7
The Porcelain Doll
Hungary
Based on three fairytales by the Hungarian fabulist Ervin Lázár, the earthy, lovable farmers of PORCELAIN DOLL live by their own laws, at least until they come up against the laws of the surrounding world. Resurrections, magical villages, music and bureaucratic bogs ensue.
Magical realism in Hungary. Very pretty, but I didn’t really understand what was going on a lot of the time. There wasn’t much in the way of context for why some (real-world, not magical) things happened, especially in the last episode; while I suspect this works well on the page (and I’d like to read the stories), it doesn’t seem to go over as well on screen. Then again, maybe I was just tired. Not a bad movie, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I was hoping to.