Kythera

Kythera by Péter Mészáros was inspired by the 18th-century rococo artist Antoine Watteau’s painting ‘Embarkation for Cythera’. It also begins with a beach performance which is a colourful reference to this painting. After the short introduction, the action takes us to contemporary Hungary and the everyday life of an ordinary couple that could be identifiable anytime, anywhere.
Csilla is a young woman whose life consists mostly of waiting for her boyfriend Bandi, taking care of him and expecting some (preferably happy) future with him. But the fat and boring Bandi is above all interested in football and food, and is not really a prototype of a prince on a white horse. Nevertheless, Csilla hopes for a colourful escape from her everyday routine. She dreams of a wonderful holiday with him on the Greek island of Cythera. She spends hours looking at pictures in a travel brochure. It seems like the couple could go on with a life like this for ages, except that their ‘idyll’ gets seriously disturbed by the fact that Csilla is pregnant.
The director masterfully serves us an almost painful observation of the greyness in a relationship where passion has disappeared (if it was ever there), and where two people stay together for the sake of not being alone. A fascinating and timeless portrait of a phenomenon familiar to many. (LC)