Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Jemima It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

ninoguapo Abandoned also known as Torzok is a powerful movie. It was made in Hungary and is a fine example of the East European cinema. Its director Árpád Sopsits shows the reality of a reformatory school during a communist regime in the country. He uses the yellow color to separate the dream like scenes from the rest - this color technique is later used in the movie Traffic. The movie portrays the harsh reality of the live in Hungary from that time because it is actually based on the writer/director's own childhood.The main character is Áron - a boy send to a reformatory school not because he has some something , but because his mother is sick and the father does not want to take care of his son. Once in the school Áron has to face the initial hostility of the lands there towards the newcomers - including beatings and hard words .He manages to survive through all those harsh moments and is soon accepted and befriended by the boys from the school.The actors in the movies are exceptionally talented despite their young age and the characters they portray come to live - each with its own uniqueness. The overall atmosphere is dark and the movie can be considered as hard to watch by anyone - probably the only one witch harsher atmosphere on a similar topic was in the movie Song for a raggy boy . The few moments of hope which the viewers can observe are directly related to the friendship between Aron and another student Attila as well as the one with his melancholic teacher Gálffi - who seems to be the only teacher from the reformatory school who cares of his students and opposes even the despotic director of the institution.Some of the scenes are really cruel - in one of them one of the teachers makes few boys to beat a friend of theirs themselves because he prayed to God - which was forbidden during the communist years. The cruelty in which the boys in the school are treated is awful and I do not buy the statement of their directors - that this is the only way to prepare them for the reality outside .The soundtrack is very powerful -classic music mostly - a bit of melancholic as well - it really contributes to the overall atmosphere.

jeanalmira I watched this movie recently. It is about the orphanage live post anti-communist revolution in Hungary. The story shows the hard life inside the orphanage, with the over-strict and abusive teacher. A boy, named Aaron was brought into this place due to his mother poor health, and experienced the very suffer life that probably he had never even dare to imagine. Due to the very suffer life, the boys started to doubt whether the God was really exist. I personally feel touch with Mate determination to find God. His faith really moves me. But in this such hard life and despite all the suffer and abusive treatment, the boys found the most valuable friendship. Aaron and his friends decided to escape from the "hell". But too bad, it was heavy winter, and worse when one of his friend, Attila, died during the escape. And the rest were brought back to the orphanage. But I don't really like the ending, it is definitely not a happy ending. I give this movie 7/10 rating. Happy watching.

Exiled_Archangel Torzok a.k.a. Abandoned is set in a Hungarian orphanage in 1960, which means pretty much anyone watching the movie is simply an alien to the subject and setting. But it captivates you, teaches you, and delivers an excellent medley of emotions. The boys, the good teacher, the nasty headmaster, the lady.. Everyone's showing pearls of acting! The soundtrack is good too. By the time I'm writing this review, the movie is rated 6.4 on IMDB, and that's absolutely underrated. I wasn't impressed by the ending, but other than that the movie was quite fascinating. A Swedish movie called Ondskan, which is somewhat similar to this one in subject, is considerably better. So if you like this one, you should see that one too. But then again, if you like that one, you should see this one too! I think Abandoned could have been longer, and the ending could have been much better. Nonetheless, it's a marvellous movie and I'll give it an 8.5/10 easily.

ollie501 WARNING - CONTAINS SPOILERSSet in Hungary, this film follows the life of Aron, a young boy left to the mercy of an orphanage. A powerful and commanding performance by the entire cast will truly draw you into their stories. It would be unfair to single out the performance of Tamás Mészáros, as Aron, simply because the rest of the cast is so strong it makes this film a true ensemble piece.This is not an easy film to watch. The immeasurable cruelty suffered by the children, at the hands of their teachers is agonising to watch. You genuinely feel for them, this is so real. The teachers are played with remarkable talent, the cast never flinching from the paths that have been laid out before them. I would imagine that their roles were as difficult to enact as they were to watch, and they are due an immense amount of respect for their portrayal of cold, calculating and manipulative excuses for human beings.Throughout the film, Aron's indomitable spirit will stay with you, as you follow his woeful story, to it's conclusion.The treatment suffered by these children is brutal. The teachers are ba****ds, and I make no apology for using that word. They are not worthy of anything more. This is a harsh, eyeopening lesson that children should always be seen AND heard.There is only one benevolent teacher, whom Aron befriends, as together, they share a love of astronomy. Their friendship is doomed to a bitter end. Tortured by his conscience, the only good man commits suicide, and the impact of this is the eventual escape plan, lead by our young protagonist.At this point, one would be forgiven for thinking this is where everything will turn out just fine and dandy, and all will be right with the world. Forget it. There are no happy endings here, no winners and no justice. I will not go into the fate that awaits these unfortunate children, but I guarantee that the end of this film will bring a tear to even the most hardened of eyes.This film has an astonishing cast, who portray their respective characters with a reality that will haunt you for some time after. Emotionally draining it may be, but at the same time it is essential viewing, and as a piece of foreign cinema, offers another peek through the windows of someone elses world. This film isn't afraid to make a statement, and trust me, make a statement is exactly what it does. There are lessons in the tale which we would all do well to heed.If you buy only one DVD in the coming months, make it this one.