Directed by:
Mátyás PriklerCinematography:
Gergely PálosComposer:
Zsófia TallérCast:
Szabolcs Hajdu, Jan Kačer, Mihály Kormos, Attila Mokos, Éva Bandor, Lucia Kašová, Ingrid Timková, Roman Polák, Miroslav Krobot, István Olasz, Peter Oszlík (more)Plots(1)
A young scout is killed by a stray bullet during a hunting expedition involving prominent political figures. Pressured to wrap up the case, the intelligence service coaxes ailing lawyer Marus Steiner to serve as a fixer. Steiner’s clean-up job brings him into the orbit of several characters – an idealist minister fighting the privatisation of water, the grieving family of the victim, an independent journalist, and a crude cop – all seeking to conceal or expose the truth. Power is a brooding investigative political thriller inspired by real events that transpired in Slovakia in 2009. Set in winter, the film is arrestingly shot, with precise camera movements and self-aware, perfectly balanced framing that urges the viewer to observe the images closely. Orthogonal compositions make the characters seem like fish in a murky aquarium, providing a God’s-eye-view of this fallen world. Stripping away specific historical details, Prikler’s film gazes unremittingly at the malignant nature of power which, despite being in the hands of conscientious individuals, has the sole goal of self-perpetuation. It’s a tough, bleak vision that refuses easy consolations, and yet, in the way the camera lingers on certain uncorrupted faces, Power conveys a sense that, ultimately, truth does matter. (International Film Festival Rotterdam)
(more)Cast
Szabolcs Hajdu
Hungary
Best movies:
Morgen (2010)
It's Not the Time of My Life (2016)
Bad Poems (2018)
Jan Kačer
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Král Lear (2003) (theatrical recording)
The Valley of the Bees (1967)
Death Is Called Engelchen (1963)
Mihály Kormos
Best movies:
Satantango (1994)
Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)
The Turin Horse (2011)
Attila Mokos
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
The Teacher (2016)
Broken Promise (2009)
The Ballad of Piargy (2022)
Éva Bandor
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Glass Tiger 3 (2010)
The Teacher (2016)
Charlatan (2020)
Lucia Kašová
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Power (2023)
Ingrid Timková
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Swingtime (2007) (TV movie)
Staroružová dráma (1989) (TV movie)
Let There Be Light (2019)
Roman Polák
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Major Case Squad (2014) (series)
Rédl (2018) (series)
Volga (2023) (series)
Miroslav Krobot
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Příběhy obyčejného šílenství (2009) (theatrical recording)
Burning Bush (2013) (TV movie)
P.F. 77 (2003) (TV movie)
István Olasz
Best movies:
Power (2023)
Peter Oszlík
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Všetko za národ (2011) (theatrical recording)
Broken Promise (2009)
Muzika (2007)
Jana Oľhová
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Kukura (2014) (theatrical recording)
Želary (2003)
Zločin a trest (2015) (theatrical recording)
László Katona
Best movies:
Bibliotheque Pascal (2010)
White God (2014)
The Ambassador to Bern (2014)
Annamária Láng
Hungary
Best movies:
One Day (2018)
On the Quiet (2019)
Heavenly Shift (2013)
Eszter Bánfalvi
Hungary
Best movies:
A zöld sárkány gyermekei (2010)
Istanbul (2011)
Poligamy (2009)
Milan Vojtela
Best movies:
The Teacher (2016)
Landscape (2000)
Réveillon (2023)
Zuzana Kovačič Hanzelová
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Power (2023)