Ildikó Enyedi’s My Twentieth Century

Dir. Ildikó Enyedi. 1989, 104 mins. Digital projection. In Hungarian with English subtitles. With Dorota Segda, Oleg Yankovskiy, Paulus Manker. Awarded the Camera d’Or at Cannes in 1989, Hungarian trailblazer Ildikó Enyedi’s luminous, unconventional fairy tale takes place on the eve of the twentieth century. Two twin girls, Lili the anarchist and Dóra, a luxurious woman of loose morals (both played by the young Polish actress Dorotha Segda), along with Mr. Z. (Tarkovsky mainstay Oleg Yankovsky) who loves them jointly, all reach the Hungarian border at the same time aboard the Orient Express. Defiantly in pursuit of happiness and in retreat from the “mass murdering century,” they are all entranced by Edison’s inventions and drunk on the miracle of existence. Among the greatest of cinematic debuts—notable from a female director within the context of 1980s—My Twentieth Century introduced the world to Enyedi, who is still a vital, distinctive artist in this 21st century. A Kino Lorber release.

“An elegant midsummer, end-century night’s dream of a film, with an elusive, gossamer lightness.”—Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian