Before Dawn (2005)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Bálint Kenyeres

Writers:

Bálint Kenyeres (writer)
György Réder (writer)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Short

Plot:

Before dawn, people will rise and other people will take away their hope. |

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Sándor Badár
János Kalmár
Lajos Kovács

Directed by
Bálint Kenyeres

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bálint Kenyeres		writer
György Réder		writer

Produced by
Iván Angelusz	....	associate producer
György Durst	....	co-producer
Bálint Kenyeres	....	producer
András Muhi	....	producer

Cinematography by
Mátyás Erdély

Film Editing by
Péter Politzer

Art Direction by
Márton Ágh

Costume Design by
Andrea Flesch
Edit Szücs

Production Management
László Lakatos	....	unit manager
Andrea Taschler	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Eva Badacsonyi	....	third assistant director
Attila Galambos	....	third assistant director
Máté Illés	....	second second assistant director
Áron Mátyássy	....	second assistant director
Laszlo Nemes	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
Tamás Zányi	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Máté Birkás	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Zoltán Gulyás Kiss	....	stunt coordinator
László Kósa	....	stunts
Zoltan Papp	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Árpád Horváth	....	focus puller
Balint Seres	....	assistant camera

Production Companies

• Inforg Stúdió

Also Known As:

Hajnal (Hungary) (working title)

Runtime:

France:13 min

Country:

Hungary

Language:

Hungarian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Hungary:14

Filming Locations:

Tinnye, Hungary

Company:

Inforg Stúdió

Much Ado about Nothing

Unfortunately, as much as I wanted this short to succeed, it has failed miserably in my eyes. I saw this film after it received numerous awards around the world (the latest one at the Sundance Film Festival) and I have to say, I expected much better than this.

There is not much of a story, so there isn't much to spoil, but I won't spoil it because it doesn't even deserve to be mentioned. Naturally, this is not why the film is weak; I think (or at least hope) that everyone has seen good 'Art' films (with a big A) that don't have much of a story, but somehow truly gives back the taste of life and its spirit, and is somehow unique.

I believe this film doesn't have anything in it to compete at the top level. I even doubt that the filmmakers themselves knew what they were trying to achieve. The film looks and feels cheap, the story is weak, the beginning of the film is hilarious and false - although it was intended to be dramatic and dead serious; the film has no real conflict etc.

The worst thing though which can be said about BEFORE DAWN is that it looks and feels like a student film (albeit a high budget one). I just didn't care about the whole thing, and although I tried, I just couldn't immerse myself in the film. There was no film magic you see. Not one good scene, that could save it from disaster. Especially the ending: WHAAH (you'll see)!

I was also disappointed by the fact that the most famous filmmakers of present day Hungary helped the young Bálint Kenyeres make this film. How could they not see how powerless and weak this film is?

I say this all as a Hungarian. In my opinion, if you want to see a good recent Hungarian film check out HUKKLE by György Pálfi. If you want to see good short films, watch British ones. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, overall, Hungarian film still cannot compete with the Western European big guns.