Two Stories from the Recent Past (1979): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1979, Two Stories from the Recent Past is a drama film directed by Károly Makk, running about 96 minutes.

What it’s about. Károly Makk strings together two novellas by Tibor Déry. A téglafal mögött is set in the early 1950s. Comrade Bódi, an embittered party worker, reports his fellow workers who are stealing ‘the assets of the people’ from the factory. During the subsequent public investigation, one of them commits suicide. The camera of Makk tells the story of the period through the crumpled face of Jozef Króner, the blank, hopeless stare of Mari Törőcsik and images of a decaying factory site. In Philemon és Baucis, like in Szerelem, the subject of ageing is tied to the traumas of the 1950s. History turns the idyllic private life of an elderly couple (Elma Bulla and Antal Páger) upside down. The 1956 uprising sweeps an injured fighter their way. The old man helps as best he can while his wife desperately tries to save her husband...

Who’s in it. Two Stories from the Recent Past stars István Avar, Mari Törőcsik, Elma Bulla and Antal Páger, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 9.0/10, Two Stories from the Recent Past sits among the best-reviewed titles in the catalogue.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Two Stories from the Recent Past page.

If you liked it. Fans of Two Stories from the Recent Past tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.