Those Who Remained, a quiet story of recovery

Those Who Remained tells of the aftermath of war for some Hungarians. It begins in 1948 as Hungary was struggling to cope with the effects of World War II. It ended in 1953 with the death of Stalin.

The majority of Those Who Remained involved only three characters. Klára (Abigél Szõke) was about 16, but still had not gone through puberty. Her aunt Olgi (Mari Nagy), who was her only relative left alive, was caring for her. Klára was terrified and traumatized from the war and she wasn’t happy living with Olgi.

Olgi took Klára to a gynocologist, Aladár (Károly Hajduk), about her slow development. He had survived the Holocaust but lost all his family. He was a melancholy man, but Klára felt safe with him. She found him in his home and insisted she should stay there, even though they were unrelated.

Aladár consulted with Olgi. The two of them agreed that Klára would stay with him the majority of the time, but they would maintain weekly contact with Olgi. He assumed a fatherly role with her, made sure she went to school – she was very smart – and made her feel safe.

With the communist takeover of Hungary after the war, people weren’t really safe yet. Aladár in particular was in danger of being “taken away.” That was a constant worry.

It was quiet and slow watching the two of them heal by degrees as they came to love and care for each other. They were physically very close, but not in an unhealthy way, even though others interpreted it that way. After a few years, Aladár started dating a woman and Klára found a boy at school she liked.

By 1953, after 5 years together, both of them were opened enough and felt safe enough to enter into these new relationships without fear. Without those quiet years of healing and growth, neither of them might have been able to do that.

The movie was slow paced and very inward. There wasn’t a lot of action or excitement. It was more a slow unfolding process. The colors were muted and the soundtrack was simple melodies performed minimally.

The film is streaming on Prime Video. In case you haven’t noticed it there, here’s the trailer.