Seeking out another short film, I decided to take a look at Children of Fate. This drama takes place in Hungary in 1945. Director Natasha Baron based it on her mother’s memories, and has said she would like to make it a full-length film with a wider focus.
The movie explains what happened to Hungary just after WWII, with a written narration during an opening montage. It then goes straight into one of the country’s homes where a family, the Florians, are worried and living through desperate times. Jozsef Florian has recently been severely injured, and his mother is praying intensely for mercy. It’s revealed the family is living in another person’s house until things calm down.
Anna Florian and her children go out to find food for survival. The sight of soldiers struggling is heartbreaking for all of them. When the Florians find a broken down truck, they move quickly to get as much as they can of the contents — which are pretty much just salt. But nobody can stick around as the Russian soldiers start attacking and everybody scrambles, dodging bullets. Things get worse for Anna and the kids as it starts to rain and there’s nowhere for them to run. What happens next is the most shocking moment in the whole short film.
I should probably mention again that this was all based on real events. A truly dark film, but I enjoy dark from time to time. I would certainly like to see more short films like this, or a full-length film based on it.