27/08/2021 - Hajni Kis' first feature is a small film with a big heart, making up for its conventional story and message with some excellent work with two wonderful non-professional actors

In her first feature, Wild Roots [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which has just world-premiered in Karlovy Vary's East of the West competition, Hungarian director Hajni Kis casts two non-professionals in a story of a broken relationship between father and daughter that they try to mend against all odds.

Tibor (former martial-arts champion Gusztáv Dietz) has just got out of prison after serving a seven-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter. Wanting to leave his old life behind, he works as a bouncer in a night club and crashes on a couch at his brother's place. But his 12-year-old daughter, Niki (Zorka Horváth), tracks him down and finds him at his workplace just as he beats up a drunken couple who have attacked him with a broken glass. Kicked out by his boss, he angrily tells his daughter to get lost. Coming home, she is confronted with her grandma, who soon sniffs out what the girl is doing and strictly forbids her from seeing Tibor.

At school, Niki hangs out with Karola, a rich kid who pretends to be her bestie, but who actually enjoys humiliating our hero. When Karola buys a pair of shoes that Niki loves but can't afford, we quickly find out that the apple does indeed not fall far from the tree.

Even though Tibor at first insists to his daughter that he has nothing to give her and she is better off with grandma, her determination and charm quickly turn him around. But the consequences of the night-club fight and the reveal of the reason why Tibor was in prison threaten to prove that "love conquers all" is just a phrase.

Kis shows a real talent for vibrant, kinetic filmmaking. Ákos Nyoszoli's camera is rarely static, moving around quickly, while Vanda Gorácz's fast-paced editing gives just enough room for the two stars to shine in clearly outlined environments. The dark, cluttered spaces of grandma's apartment are contrasted with the bright classrooms and corridors of Niki's school, and the rich use of exteriors gives the film breadth. Especially inspired is the night-time car trip that Tibor and Niki embark on in the last section of the film, which has a wild, nightmarish quality to it.

Wild Roots is a small film, produced by Proton Cinema with funds from the Hungarian National Film Institute’s Incubator Programme for low-budget pictures. Its plot, character arcs and message are something we have seen many times before, but it has a big heart, and this is mostly thanks to Kis' work with the two non-professionals.

It is as easy to guess that Dietz is not a professional actor as it is obvious from his physique that he is a professional fighter, and the director consciously uses this in the creation of his character. When he is angry and holding it back, his energy shimmers on the screen, as if it were just about to burst out. And when that little rascal Horváth turns her wild charm on, the sharp-nosed guy with piercing eyes and a shaved head seems to melt – but it’s thanks to well-thought-out framing and editing, rather than to any changes in his facial expression. Horváth's performance is also heartbreaking at key emotional points, and she could easily have a great acting future: she definitely has the charisma and spirit for it.

In addition to Proton Cinema, Wild Roots was co-produced by Slovakia's MPhilms, which received financing from the Slovak Audiovisual Fund and the Minority Culture Fund Slovakia. Berlin-based m-appeal has the international rights.