Bibliothèque Pascal (2010)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I consider this a master piece! It is a rated adult fairy tale. It is a dream projected to the viewers. It has distinctive story telling. The sound compilation and cinematography are both great. The film creates such an impact you either love it or hate it. Sex and violence always catches viewers attention.But it has never been done this way!The film is absurd and surreal. Director Szabolcs Hajdu is not afraid of taking the risk.And be who he really is! I haven't seen something raw powerful and original like this movie for a while.

they say picture is worth a thousand words, but often words make the difference. i'm fortunate to speak most of the languages in this movie and it seems to make a difference. therefore i'd like to outline some details relevant only if you've seen the movie already.*** spoiler start ***the first one is about the bureaucrat at the child protection services: his report/evaluation is a very important/decisive factor in Mona getting back her daughter. at first he's the typical formal bureaucrat, but after hearing Mona's fantasy story he practically forces her to face reality (by telling her that her daughter would be easily adopted by Italian families) and make a clear choice. then he even makes her statement "officially better sounding" by dictating additional text to the typist. an added bonus is the approving smile of the typist when he dictates his final recommendation.the second one is the blunt/real story of Mona: after what seems a one-night-stand she's pregnant, the father disappears, she raises her daughter alone having various low income jobs (you don't make a fortune selling sunflower in a train station) ... and gives in to the temptation of "easy" money, leaving for an "erotic job" in england. after facing reality there, she returns home. so the blunt reality is that she didn't return for her child but because she got fed up ... and is therefore clearly an unfit parent.now to the reason i liked this movie so much: while we know for sure that her initial fantasy story is just a way to cope with her own guilt, we get to see the firemen orchestra (no police, no special forces) "escaping" from her daughters dream to save Mona ... which is probably the reason that convinced the bureaucrat to see a potential good mother in Mona. we don't get a lot of second chances in life ... but sometimes, if we're lucky enough, it happens.*** spoiler end ***also, for the reasons described above, i think a comparison to Lilja 4-Ever is rather forced. both movies are excellent, but they're too different.

Saw this at the Melbourne International Film Festival the other night and walked out at about the 70 minute mark.I'm not sure if Hungarians or Romanians might understand this film better, I certainly couldn't.The lead actress is attractive and tries hard but isn't given enough to work with and the narrative keeps shifting. There was plenty of potential conflict in the opening scene but outside of that I soon lost interest in her character and the other characters she met along with way. The Director seemed to be going for stylish visuals and fantasy sequences whilst forgetting the most important things - the story and characters.I found Lilya4Ever to be a far superior film about a similar subject. I find it difficult to believe films like this one can even get funding.

Single mother Mona Paparu (Orsolya Török-Illyés) must convince a bureaucrat in child protective services that she should regain custody of her young daughter, who she left in the care of an aunt while working as a prostitute in England. No, that's not right.Through a series of unfortunate events, young Mona finds herself stripped of her passport in a modern-day slave market, bought by Pascal (Shamgar Amram), who runs bordello where the elite of the worlds of art, politics, and business purchase the services of sexual slaves representing figures of literature (Joan of Arc, Pinocchio, Desdemona, etc). No. That's not it either.A tale of the brutal sex traffic between the former USSR and the UK stands as a metaphor for the rape of imagination that rules the global culture business. Not one of these interpretations quite works.Once upon a time, a theatre buffet girl told her story to a filmmaker. Bibliothèque Pascal is first and foremost a fine movie – a dream projected onto our world to wake us up.A perfect cast, led by the luminous Orsolya Török-Illyés, who once seen can never be forgotten.