Captives ably evoke an increasing sense of tightness ★★★☆☆

Doorbell fear, was the fear of the moment when the secret police of the post-war regime of Mátyás Rákosi in Hungary could ring the doorbell of everything and everyone. Thousands of Hungarians were deported in this way, the text at the beginning of this fact-based reads captives† When the state security service at the Gál family’s doorsteps, director Kristóf Deák adapts the situation into a somewhat farcical thriller. Everyone who is at home and everyone who reports to the Gáls in the following days will be placed under house arrest. Deák skillfully evokes an increasing sense of oppression, but also uses a certain frivolity through the music, among other things. A refreshing combination, even if oppression and frivolity sometimes work against each other.