Prima Primavera

Endre Hules

Writer

Feature, 92 min., 2009

Languages:
Hungarian, English, Bulgarian

Prima Primavera

Mother and Gábor, her 55 year old retarded son, have lived for each other for the past 40 years and Mother is dreading the thought of what would happen to her helpless son, when she, too "will travel to Grandma's house."

This happens sooner than expected, when Mother falls victim to a botched bank robbery, and Gábor becomes the only witness who can identify the mastermind behind the crime, the "Dutchman," who now wants him dead.

Gábor finds an unexpected ally in Jolie, a teenage prostitute, who has gone from the Dutchman's accomplice to his intended victim. Jolie reluctantly helps Gábor escape, then joins him on a desperate journey across the Hungarian border to Grandma's house in Serbia. The Dutchman is not far behind.

When they finally reach the mountain village, armed with a chandelier and a pair of beekeepers' masks, the odd pair finds the fairy-tale house in ruins. Grandma had joined the rest of the family in the abandoned Jewish cemetery long ago; only Gábor's stories and meticulous drawings remain.

Balancing precariously on the edge between crude reality and fanciful imagination, our heroes manage to survive and, in the process, find peace with each other, the world, and ultimately, themselves.