On Body and Soul

Snowfall in a forest of firs, gentle wind, the soothing sound of flowing water and two deer nuzzling in the mist. Endre and Maria are fastidious loners and mere acquaintances, yet they share this recurring dream. Though Maria has extreme difficulty with physical contact, she strives to overcome this limitation with her vivid imagination and immense desire. The mutual and expanding dreams tug at the pair, body and soul, but so do their fears, obsessions and predilections for solitude.

I loved the sensual nature of the film and the two main characters who delight in little things such as the warmth of sunlight and the brushing of hair with a hand. Close-up photography, of faces, reflections in the water and more, adds another layer of sensuality to the film. Both Endre and Maria work in a slaughterhouse and while the story does not dwell for too long in the raw bloodshed of this, it is enough to make you vow to become a vegetarian. I appreciate the film's slant on the subject, which Endre gives voice to in telling a candidate for a job at the slaughterhouse, "if you don't feel sorry for the cows, you can't work here." The character chemistry seems a little off, as Endre appears much older and uglier than Maria, but maybe it is just me. Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival.