It’s seven o’clock on a Tuesday night, and one of the most popular movie theatres in Budapest is full, not an empty seat in sight. The audience is not here for a Hollywood blockbuster, but a Hungarian film that barely had the budget to be made.
Feels Like Home (Itt Érzem Magam Otthon) has captured moviegoers not only with its striking visuals but also with its timing – its release coming before Hungary’s pivotal parliamentary elections on 12 April.
The psychological thriller tells the story of a saleswoman who is abducted into a family that follows the orders of an authoritarian father-figure, Papa, and whose members get privileges if they play by the rules. The main character, Rita, tries to escape, but finds that even outside everything seems to be owned by the family, so there is no point in asking for help.
The director, Gábor Holtai, says it was not his intention to create a metaphor for life in Hungary under Viktor Orbán, but that is certainly how it has been interpreted in the fevered final weeks of the election campaign.
According to critics, the rightwing prime minister has used the last 16 years to capture independent institutions, dismantle democracy and enrich his family and loyalists. But he is facing an unprecedented challenge from someone who emerged from his circle and turned against him: Péter Magyar, leader of the newly founded Tisza party.
At the showing in Buda, Bea and almost all her friends are wearing Tisza’s logo on their T-shirts. They see direct parallels between Hungary’s political leadership and characters in the movie.
Bea, a 52-year-old sales assistant, said: “I was in shock at first. Because of the brutality portrayed in the film. That they keep intimidating someone until they do what they are told, until they are broken. After I went home, I understood that we are the ones shaping our fate: we are the other members of the family.”
Holtai says this take does not surprise him: “It’s a completely natural association on the part of Hungarian viewers. We didn’t write the film with this intent but, of course, we expected the associations given the current political climate in Hungary.”
Hungarians are not the only ones to see a political message in the film, added Holtai. “It was interesting to see that when we showed this movie in countries where a dictatorial regime was part of their history, audiences immediately started to wonder about how the past is reflected in their present, and to what extent it is still present in their lives today.”
Feels Like Home did not receive any state funding and had a minimal PR budget. The actors shared the dates of the premiere on their social media accounts and the film has become a word-of-mouth success. Many members of the cast are outspoken about their criticism of Orbán, perhaps solidifying the film’s political subtext to audiences.
The actor who plays Rita’s abductor, Áron Molnár, is known for his sharp criticism of the Orbán government in satirical short videos on Instagram. He pokes fun not only at politicians but the influencers who repeat Orbán’s narrative.
Molnár had a heated public exchange with a senior figure in the prime minister’s populist party after his comments on Hungary’s dependence on Russian energy sparked her anger.
Alexandra Szentkirályi, president of Fidesz in Budapest, posted on Facebook: “You’re not a good enough actor to play an energy lawyer with absolutely no knowledge of the subject. How can you sink so low in your hatred for your own country and people?”
Gellért Kovács, an independent film critic and writer for the Hungarian magazine NLC, said there were several reasons for the success of Feels Like Home: “First of all, this is a great movie, and compared to other Hungarian films, it’s rare to find one that meets the Hollywood standards people expect from a psychological thriller. And it is an allegory of the ever-present situation in Hungary. It highlights certain archetypes through its characters.”
The film industry has felt the effect of Orbán’s government. It controls the National Film Institute (NFI), a body that mainly funds movies that align with Fidesz ideology.
Kovács said a new type of film had emerged over the past three or four years “born of necessity, pain and despair” and created without state film subsidies. He added: “It holds up a mirror to the film industry distributed by the NFI. These films are capable of generating a greater impact than those made with budgets of many billions.”
At the cinema in Buda, Róbert, was back for a second viewing in a week. “This is a movie that makes you think for days. It really stays with you,” said the 73-year-old retail company worker. He said he was frustrated by the political climate in Hungary: “Because they managed to divide this country; it’s a curious situation. We’ll see what happens.”
