Napló - Diary For My Children

Márta Mészáros (1931) made three films based on her recollections of life in communist Hungary (1949-1989), a country whose regime was initially inspired by Stalinist ideology. Napló – Diary For My Children, the first part of the trilogy, is set in the years before the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The secret police kept tabs on dissidents, and anyone expressing doubts about the blessings of the workers’ paradise risked being arrested.

In a mix of drama and documentary, Mészáros shows the clash between Juli and her adoptive mother Magda. Magda rises fast through the Party ranks, Juli is the daughter of Hungarian communists murdered by Stalin. To evade the tensions at home, Juli absconds from school and spends her days in the cinema.

Suffocating

Mészáros shot the film in black and white, with the restricted colour palette contributing to the film’s oppressive and suffocating atmosphere. Napló – Diary for My Children grew into a highly personal film about a regime that put the ideal of the ‘collective man’ as based on the works of Marx and Lenin above the individual needs of the Hungarian people.

Márta Mészáros was a filmmaker who made her mark under the communist regime in Hungary. Her films were screened at international festivals, received major awards and were praised for their artistic qualities as well as their critical stance towards the communist regime.

The film is digitally restored by National Film Institute Hungary.