Review: Türelem – With a Little Patience (2007)

Directed by: László Nemes | 14 minutes | drama, short film | Actors: Éva Kelényi, Endre Ferenczy, Kálmán Kovács, Virág Marjai, Attila Menszátor-Héresz

Born in 1977, Hungarian filmmaker László Nemes was rightly praised for his haunting Holocaust film ‘Son of Saul’ (‘Saul fia’) (2015). Not only did he win a Golden Globe in the best foreign film category, he also took home the Academy Award. He previously won the FIPRESCI prize. The fact that Nemes had been around for a long time with the idea for ‘Son of Saul’ becomes clear when you watch his short film ‘Türelem’ (‘With a Little Patience’) from 2007. The barely fifteen minute long film was shot at the Venice Film Festival, among others, but gets a deserved place on the blu-ray / DVD of ‘Son of Saul’, so that many more people can get to know this gem.

Just like in ‘Son of Saul’, ‘Türelem’ starts with a blurred image in which we slowly perceive someone walking towards the camera. This time the protagonist is not a man, but a young woman, who gets something pressed into her hands, something that she takes several times from her breast pocket to watch it. Just like in Nemes’ award-winning feature film debut, he keeps his camera constantly focused on her, while everything is happening in the background in her surroundings, a dark office, where she routinely performs her duties. In terms of narrative style, the film is therefore strongly reminiscent of ‘Son of Saul’. The viewer remains in the dark for a long time, what is actually going on here, but due to the chosen structure, the effect is maximized.

Nemes already showed with ‘Türelem’ that he was a film director to keep an eye on. The fact that the majority of the audience will see the film after ‘Son of Saul’ is not a problem, it is interesting to see how he developed. So don’t forget to look when you bring ‘Son of Saul’ into your home.