''Sunset'' () is a 2018 Hungarian

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

film co-written and directed by

László Nemes László Nemes (born Nemes Jeles László; ; 18 February 1977) is a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. His 2015 debut feature film, ''Son of Saul,'' was screened in the main competition at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the ...

. It is set in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, starring newcomer Juli Jakab and

Vlad Ivanov Vlad Ivanov (; born Vladimir Ivanov , 4 August 1969) is a Romanian actor of Lipovan origin. Selected filmography * Barbie- Princess and the Pauper- King Dominik (Romanian voice) Awards * The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award fo ...

. It premiered at the

75th Venice International Film Festival The 75th Venice International Film Festival was held from 29 August to 8 September 2018, at Venice Lido in Italy. Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro was the jury president for the main competition. Italian actor Michele Riondino hosted the o ...

and was also screened at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. It was selected as the Hungarian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the

91st Academy Awards The 91st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2018 in film, films of 2018 and took place on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During th ...

, but it was not nominated.

Plot

1913, Budapest, in the heart of Europe. The young Irisz Leiter arrives in the Hungarian capital with high hopes to work as a milliner at the legendary hat store that belonged to her late parents. She is nonetheless sent away by the new owner, Oszkár Brill. While preparations are under way at the Leiter hat store to host guests of uttermost importance, a man abruptly comes to Irisz looking for a certain Kálmán Leiter. Refusing to leave the city, the young woman follows Kálmán's tracks, her only link to a lost past. Her quest brings her through the dark streets of Budapest, where only the Leiter hat store shines, into the turmoil of a civilization on the eve of its downfall.

Cast

Production

Development

The film received €5 million from the Hungarian National Film Fund and the project is produced by Gabor Sipos and Gabor Rajna through Laokoon Filmgroup. Sunset is being sold and co-produced by French outfit Films Distribution. The film is expected to get support also from Eurimages.

Casting

Juli Jakab, who plays the protagonist of the film, was chosen among more than 1,000 Hungarian actresses.

Filming

Shooting took place between 12 June and 2 September 2017 in Hungary.

Release

''Sunset'' premiered in competition at the

on 2 September 2018. The film was released in Hungary on 27 September 2018.

Reception

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

the film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100 based on 23 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Accolades

At the Venice Film Festival, the film won the

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the wor ...

Award.

References

External links

* {{Hungarian submissions for the Academy Award 2018 films 2010s historical drama films Films set in 1913 Films set in Budapest Films shot in Budapest Films directed by László Nemes Hungarian historical drama films 2018 drama films Hungarian World War I films French World War I films 2010s Hungarian-language films Films scored by László Melis Sony Pictures Classics films