Family Nest


Family Nest is a 1979 Hungarian black-and-white drama film, directed by Béla Tarr. The film won Grand Prize at the 1979 Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival, tying with the film ''El Super.''

Premise

Irén lives with her daughter in her in-laws’ small apartment in the center of Budapest. Her husband has just returned from his national service, and their relationship is deteriorating. Soon, Irén wants to leave the family—but her rehousing request gets caught up in the Communist administration.

Cast

  • Irén Szajki as Irén
  • László Horváth as Laci
  • Gábor Kun as Laci’s Father
  • Gáborné Kun as Laci’s Mother

Reception

Family Nest received moderately positive reviews from film critics. Jonathan Rosenbaum of Chicago Reader wrote, "This is strong stuff, but the highly formal director of Almanac of Fall, Damnation, and Satantango is still far from apparent." Keith Uhlich of Slant Magazine rated the film 2/4 stars and called the characters "unconvincing mouthpieces for a highly unsubtle political critique."

Home Release

The latest and highest quality release of Family Nest is in the Béla Tarr | A Curzon Collection which was released by Curzon and presents the film in HD.