Fateless

"You can close your eyes. You can turn away. But you will never forget."

2005 2h 20m HU

👍

6.9

SOLID

🔥

95%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★6.9TMDB · 92🍅95%Rotten Tomatoes●87Metacritic★7IMDB · 7,355

WarDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A Hungarian youth comes of age at Buchenwald during World War II. György Köves is 14, the son of a merchant who's sent to a forced labor camp. After his father's departure, György gets a job at a brickyard; his bus is stopped and its Jewish occupants sent to camps. There, György find camaraderie, suffering, cruelty, illness, and death. He hears advice on preserving one's dignity and self-esteem. He discovers hatred. If he does survive and returns to Budapest, what will he find? What is natural; what is it to be a Jew? Sepia, black and white, and color alternate to shade the mood.

“You can close your eyes. You can turn away. But you will never forget.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon Prime VideoSubscription

Amazon Prime Video with AdsSubscription

Cast

Marcell Nagy
György Köves
Béla Dóra
Smoker
Bálint Péntek
Pretty boy
Áron Dimény
Bandi Citrom
Péter Fancsikai
Older Kollmann boy
Zsolt Dér
Rozi
András M. Kecskés
Finn
Dani Szabó
Moskovich

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lajos Koltai
Writers: Imre Kertész, Imre Kertész
Languages: English, Hebrew, Yiddish, German, Polish, Hungarian
Countries: Germany, United Kingdom, Hungary, Austria

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $3M — a 10.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 21 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 6 languages: English, Hebrew, Yiddish, German, Polish, Hungarian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: Germany, United Kingdom, Hungary, Austria.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lajos Koltai, shot by Gyula Pados. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hajnal Sellő shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lajos Koltai directs. Gyula Pados behind the camera. Ennio Morricone scores. Hajnal Sellő cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Germany, United Kingdom, Hungary, Austria. Dialogue in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, German, Polish, Hungarian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $3M — a 10.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
3Released 21 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 6 languages: English, Hebrew, Yiddish, German, Polish, Hungarian.
5International production across 4 countries: Germany, United Kingdom, Hungary, Austria.
6Directed by Lajos Koltai, shot by Gyula Pados. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Hajnal Sellő shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Marcell Nagy and Béla Dóra and Bálint Péntek carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "You can close your eyes. You can turn away. But you will never forget.".
11IMDB entry: tt0367082 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Only 92 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gyula Pados
Original score: Ennio Morricone
Editing: Hajnal Sellő
Production design: Tibor Lázár
Costume design: Györgyi Szakács
Makeup / hair: Noémi Czakó
Stunt coordinator: Béla Unger
Runtime: 140 min · 2h 20m
Status: Released
Budget: $250,000
Box office: $2,512,009
Return: 1005% of budget
Original language: HU
IMDB: Fateless (2005)
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 87/100
IMDB rating: 7/10 · 7,355 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

6 wins & 7 nominations total

Also by

Lajos Koltai

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2013-10-12
★ 7/10
An interesting movie about the personal experience of a Hungarian Jew during the Holocaust. Still, you cannot really empathize with the weird apathetic personality of the main character until the last reflections of the movie.

Production companies