Keep Quiet (film)
Keep Quiet | |
---|---|
Directed by | Joseph Martin Sam Blair |
Produced by | Alex Holder Danielle Clark Nicole Stott |
Starring | Csanád Szegedi Anne Applebaum András Dezső Rabbi Boruch Oberlander Katalin Molnár Szegediné Imréné Molnár Eva 'Bobby' Neumann |
Cinematography | Márton Vízkelety |
Edited by | Ben Stark Kim Gaster |
Music by | Philip Sheppard |
Production companies | AJH Films Passion Pictures |
Running time | 94 minutes |
Countries | United Kingdom Hungary Canada Belgium Poland |
Languages | English Hungarian Hebrew |
Keep Quiet is a 2016 biographical documentary film about Hungarian politician Csanád Szegedi, known for his anti-semitic comments and membership in the radical nationalist party Jobbik, who later discovered he was Jewish.[1][2] The British-made film includes interviews with Szegedi, his grandmother who was a former Auschwitz concentration camp survivor and archive footage.
On 14 April 2016 the film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in the World Documentary Competition.[3]
Synopsis
[edit]Csanád Szegedi was a member of the Hungarian radical nationalist Jobbik party, who espoused anti-semitic rhetoric. He was a founder of the Magyar Gárda (Hungarian Guard), a now-banned paramilitary wing of Jobbik. Then came a revelation which changed his life: Szegedi's maternal grandparents were Jewish and his grandmother a survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp who, fearing further persecution, had hidden her religious background.
The film follows Szegedi's on his three-year journey to embrace Judaism, forced to confront his family's past, his wrongdoing, and his country's turbulent history. But is this change a genuine process of reparation and spiritual awakening, or is he a desperate man with nowhere to turn?
Reception
[edit]The film received positive reviews from critics. Frank Scheck from The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Be prepared to talk about it after," and called the film "[An] amazing story... Should provoke strong controversy upon its theatrical release. It's fascinating throughout."[4] Daniel Walber from NonFics called the film "[a] powerful narrative of repentance."[5]
Keep Quiet was featured in "The 10 Best Movies at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival" in Time Out New York. "If you want a controversial fest title, this is it."[6] Jewish Week commented: "A superb piece of nonfiction filmmaking, telling a story of import with grace and intelligence."[7] Slant Magazine wrote, "The filmmakers astutely reveal how a culture can eat another alive and somehow live with itself."[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "This politician hated Jews. Then found out he was one". Retrieved 2016-08-11.
- ^ "What happened when an anti-Semite found he was Jewish?". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
- ^ "Keep Quiet | 2016 Tribeca Film Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
- ^ "'Keep Quiet': Tribeca Review". Retrieved 2016-08-11.
- ^ "Keep Quiet (2016) Documentary Review". 2016-04-26. Archived from the original on 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
- ^ "The 10 best movies at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival". Retrieved 2016-08-11.
- ^ "From Hungary To Buenos Aires And Beyond". The Jewish Week | Connecting The World To Jewish News, Culture & Opinion. 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
- ^ "Tribeca Film Festival 2016: Keep Quiet | The House Next Door | Slant Magazine". Retrieved 2016-08-11.