On Body and Soul is
a Hungarian movie that tries to link the real world with the dreams of two
people. It falls into the category of romantic drama.
The movie falls
short in areas like excitement, pace, and the twists and turns needed to make
it something I’d feel confident recommending. Its decision to remain slow-paced
and not include the necessary excitement to carry viewers through its nearly
two-hour runtime is where I feel the writers and producers failed to deliver.
That said, I enjoyed the characterization and found myself very curious about
the two main characters, which kept me watching until the end. If you’re into
romantic dramas, you might enjoy this movie too.
Nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 90th Academy Awards, and with Alexandra Borbély (who played Mária) winning the European Actress award at the European Film Awards, On Body and Soul takes place in a slaughterhouse where not much happens. Like any typical workplace, some people are involved in the daily grind, while others are not. The movie focuses on two people: Endre, the CFO, and Mária, an autistic quality inspector.
Much of their
initial conversations go nowhere, and Endre often feels like he’s intruding or
crossing a line with his extremely quiet and withdrawn co-worker, Mária.
Nothing much
would have happened between the two if a theft hadn’t occurred at the
slaughterhouse, prompting Endre to call the police. The police suggest Endre
conduct a psychological evaluation of his workers, claiming it’s likely the
culprit could be identified through this method.
Endre decides to
follow through with the officer’s request, and a psychologist is sent to the
slaughterhouse to interview all the workers. During the interviews, both the
psychologist and the audience notice something strange: Endre and Mária are
having the same dream. In the dream, Endre is a stag, and Mária is a doe.
They’re in the woods during winter, and Endre, as the stag, helps Mária, the
doe, find food. The only contact between them is when they go for water and
their noses touch.
Endre’s
curiosity leads Mária to develop feelings for him, finding him interesting (or,
in her words, beautiful). But her autistic behavior makes it difficult for
Endre to understand her or know where he stands with her. Mária realizes this
and begins working on herself to trust Endre enough to let him get close to
her.
The movie could
have explored the dream phenomenon in many directions, but the writers chose to
focus solely on the interaction between the two characters, inviting viewers to
be patient and see where the story leads.
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