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Without Air

Without Air

Without Air

Dir. Katalin Moldovai
104 min

Ana Bauch is a literature teacher in a small (and repressed) Hungarian town. When one of her students is caught watching a film she recommended, about the love affair between Rimbaud and Verlaine, the repercussions are calamitous.

The students absolutely adore Ana and her unorthodox methods–she makes literature come alive, offering hope and release in this repressed village. In order to help her kids understand Rimbaud’s poetry, she suggests they watch Total Eclipse, a 1995 film that delves into the writers’ homosexual relationship. When word gets out, Ana is accused of propagating “homosexual propaganda”--should she abandon teaching? If she stays, what will teaching even be like anymore? Katalin Moldovai’s thought-provoking film is a blistering look at her country’s repressive government and paean to teachers everywhere.

Film Details

Release Year: 2023
Runtime: 104 min
Country/Region: Hungary, Romania
Language: Hungarian
Print Source: National Film Institute Hungary
Tags: Drama, Education, Politics, Women Directors

Cast/Crew

Director: Katalin Moldovai
Executive Producer: Béla Attila Kovács
Producer: András Muhi, Katalin Moldovai, Béla Attila Kovács
Cinematographer: András Táborosi
Screenwriter: Zita Palóczi, Katalin Moldovai
Editor: Orsolya Soltész
Composer: Tibor Cári
Principal Cast: Ágnes Krasznahorkai, Tünde Skovrán, Áron Dimény, Soma Sándor, Zsolt Bölönyi, Ágnes Lorincz