{"id":2748,"date":"2020-12-17T09:00:18","date_gmt":"2020-12-17T08:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-humanities\/?p=2748"},"modified":"2020-12-14T16:43:22","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T15:43:22","slug":"blurred-lines-preparations-to-be-together-for-an-unknown-period-of-time-film-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-humanities\/2020\/12\/17\/blurred-lines-preparations-to-be-together-for-an-unknown-period-of-time-film-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Blurred Lines: “Preparations to be together for an unknown period of time” (Film Review)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Preparations to be together for an unknown period of time\u2019<\/em> (Lili Horv\u00e1t, Hungary 2020) <\/strong><\/p>\n

Khalid Ali\u2019s selection for the best feature film in 2020, and Hungary\u2019s submission for the \u2018Best International Feature Film\u2019 for 2021 Oscars <\/strong><\/p>\n

by Khalid Ali<\/p>\n

The opening credits for Lili Horvat\u2019s film are lines from a Sylvia Plath\u2019s poem pondering on the futility of falling in love with an imaginary person:<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2019I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.<\/p>\n

I think I made you up inside my head.<\/p>\n

I should have loved a thunderbird instead\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

We are immediately drawn into the perplexed mind of M\u00e1rta (Natasa Stork), an eminent Hungarian neurosurgeon with a thriving career in the States. Marta \u2018meets\u2019 a fellow neurosurgeon, Mr J\u00e1nos (Viktor Bod\u00f3) in a scientific conference in New Jersey. An instant attraction sparks between the two surgeons, and they agree to meet back in Hungary two months later. M\u00e1rta delivers on her part of the deal and waits for J\u00e1nos at the Liberty Bridge in Budapest on the agreed date. However, J\u00e1nos never shows up. Disappointed and frustrated, M\u00e1rta confronts J\u00e1nos in the hospital where he works, only to be told that \u2018they never met\u2019 and her fabricated story of a brief encounter in New Jersey is \u2018all in her head\u2019. At the beginning M\u00e1rta is determined to find the reason behind J\u00e1nos\u2019 harsh rejection. However, soon enough she starts to question her own sanity and whether she did<\/em> imagine the whole affair. The lines between fact and fiction begin to blur in M\u00e1rta\u2019s mind. As a science-minded person, she seeks a logical explanation in a psychiatrist\u2019s consulting room. To pursue matters further, she takes a drastic decision of relocating to Budapest to work in the same hospital where J\u00e1nos is based. Everyone thinks she is \u2018mad\u2019 for leaving her privileged position in the USA. Another battle awaits M\u00e1rta in Budapest, as a female surgeon she must work harder than her peers to earn the respect of a male-dominated surgical department. Performing high-risk brain surgery on a patient brings M\u00e1rta into contact with the patient\u2019s son, Alex (Benett Bilm\u00e1nyi) a young medical student who becomes infatuated with the older surgeon. A tense chasing game ensues with M\u00e1rta stalking J\u00e1nos when she herself is being stalked by Alex.<\/p>\n

The film works beautifully on several levels: an intriguing character study, an intense psychological thriller, and a master class in film-noir. Each scene is cleverly plotted to advance our understanding of the motivations behind M\u00e1rta\u2019s actions; her decision to rent a shabby flat is explained by a subtle scene showing the flat having a view of the Liberty Bridge. While living there M\u00e1rta can keep a watchful eye on the Bridge in case J\u00e1nos fulfils their earlier promise and visits the agreed meeting place.<\/p>\n