7
A Nagy Fuzet ( The Notebook in Hungarian ) is quite an extraordinary war drama which premiered at TIFF ( where I saw it last September ) Later it was short listed as a Best Foreign Oscar Film, 2014. I wholeheartedly believe it should have made it to the final five. For once this is a WW II flic that has absolutely nothing to do with the Holocaust which is refreshing only in that we see this disaster of a war from a different perspective. It is quite a disturbing film of sibling brothers left in the care of a wretched, alcoholic grandmother. The film is truly an enigma from several points of view starting with the very fact that none of the main characters goes by any name including the brothers who are or rather become youngsters exceedingly bizarre. The enigma of which I spoke goes beyond incredulity as we witness facts and observations almost too harsh too endure. The boys are the biggest enigma of all and I don't think there is a viewer who will not speculate the lot of these brothers with the war coming to its inevitable conclusion. An almost frightening film but one of intense reality, the fight for survival during these horrendous years of perhaps the most terrible war the world has ever witnessed.