Orphan: Laszlo Nemes Explores Identity and Rebellion in Post-Uprising Hungary

Orphan, original title: “Àrva” (2025, László Nemes)

Budapest, 1957. Since the end of World War II, Hungary has been under a Communist regime, the Hungarian People’s Republic, subordinate to the USSR. In the aftermath of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising, those who took part in the rebellion against the regime in Budapest are now

being persecuted. Andor Hirsch is a twelve-year-old boy. He spent the first years of his life in an orphanage while his father was sent to a concentration camp and his mother managed to save herself by finding protection with a butcher. When the war ends, Andor’s mother, Klára, comes to bring him home so they can live together again in Budapest. His father, who later participated in the uprising, has disappeared and is nowhere to be found. While Andor idolizes his father and takes pride in the myth that surrounds him, his relationship with his mother seems impossible to rebuild. Things become even more complicated when the brutal butcher re-enters Klára’s life. Klára is clearly hiding a secret from Andor. But, as children often do, Andor finds his own way to uncover the truth. Sári, Andor’s best friend, is hiding her brother who also was part of the rebellion, but who seems not to know Andor’s father.

With an outstanding production design and a nostalgic sepia visual palette, Orphan is a traditional historical drama told through the coming-of-age story of a young boy who isn’t technically an orphan yet who’s loss of self-identity makes him feel like one. As the caretaker of the orphanage warns Klára at the very beginning of the film, she’ll need to be patient with Andor, as he doesn’t remember her. Hungary has now changed, all the kids are sent to state orphanages, and everyone must address one another as “comrades”. Andor is sneaky and angry, absorbing the tension of every conversation and dynamic surrounding him to then systematically explode in micro acts of rebellion that seem unforgivable for the situation. The rebellion is that of a teenager but metaphoric for the frustration of the country as a whole. When Andor discovers the truth about who is real father is, he cannot accept the truth, as the brutal matter of fact shutters is self-identity and his eagerness for self-determination.

Orphan premiered at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion, and it was selected as Hungary’s official submission for Best International Feature at the 98th Academy Awards. The film marks Nemes’ third feature and his continued collaboration with French writer and screenwriter Clara Royer, with whom he previously co-wrote Son of Saul (2015) and Sunset (2018). The former was Nemes’ debut feature and went on to win the Grand Prix at Cannes as well as the Academy Award for Best International Feature. With Orphan, once again, Nemes immerses audiences in the horrors of 20th-century Central Europe, this time moving beyond his signature claustrophobic, first-person perspective toward a more traditional cinematic approach. At DIFF, Orphan receives its Irish national premiere.