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Karlovy Vary Film Fest Review: Even Helen Mirren Can't Save 'The Door'

  • By Jessica Kiang
  • |
  • July 3, 2012 3:27 PM
  • |
  • 2 Comments
Festivals
If you were to attempt to genetically engineer the perfect film for Karlovy Vary, Eastern Europe’s biggest film festival and one of the oldest in the world, your checklist of ingredients might include: an internationally revered film star lead, a respected veteran European director, a Central or Eastern European setting and a story in which both the Holocaust and post-WW2 communism figure largely. Maybe throw in a little subtext about class division and gender roles for good measure. “The Door” is a new Helen Mirren film from Hungarian director István Szabó ("Meeting Venus," "Being Julia,""Mephisto"), set in 1960s Budapest and detailing the relationship between a wealthy female novelist and a strong-willed cleaning lady who may or may not be harbouring dark secrets regarding her actions during the war. It pretty much hits the jackpot, or rather it would have if it was good. It’s not.
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More: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Helen Mirren, Review, István Szabó, The Door

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