Another Way

Another Way takes place in post-revolution Hungary in 1956. Its story is steeped in the politics of the time. Stalinist Hungary is not something I know much, if anything about. What makes the film successful is even going into it without this knowledge, the film still provided a picture of what life was like under this regime. And what was life like? Pretty bleak, for the most part.

The film begins in 1958 with the death of a journalist named Eva. This death is devastating to a woman named Livia. In flashbacks, we see what lead up to this. Eva is a passionate journalist. She and Livia share an office. This of course leads to some lesbian feelings. Unfortunately, Livia is married to an army officer. Livia is hesitant about rocking the boat, even on a personal level. Eva, by contrast is quite open about being a lesbian and being critical of Hungary and its leaders. The two women struggle through living and expressing truth both in their work and their private lives.

Another Way is a movie with themes! That’s something all movies should have but don’t. Beyond simply having them, Another Way also has themes that have depth. What particularly struck me was the exploration of the concept of truth. The name of the magazine Eva works for translates to “The Truth” and she takes this literally. But this isn’t a viable option. Another Way is great at showing that in this society, there are limits on truth. Absolutely honesty is not a viable way to exist and survive under this regime.

The politics in Another Way are better than the romance. While the film is successful in tying the two together, the romance subplot feels significantly less important compared with the major political turmoil and corruption that makes up the bigger picture of this film. Another Way paints a pretty negative view of 1956 Hungary. It seems like a bad place to live all around. The depictions of the repression and inequality of the nation overall is definitely going to hit a bit harder than the smaller, personal story which takes the form of a lesbian romance.

Still, the romance here isn’t bad. I do think it’s unnecessarily focused on the physical aspects and subsequent sex scenes. But there’s still a good foundation here. What really works is that there’s a constant feeling of Eva and Livia being simultaneously so close to one another but also there’s an unreachable distance between them. The two women like each other, want each other and have clearly found kindred spirits in one another. But what should add up to a straight forward equation of being together is complicated by societal factors. Even in scenes where they’re in bed together, as close as physically possible, there’s still a distance between them as they know this relationship is not viable in their society.

Another Way is a bleak political drama. The lesbian romance is probably the weakest part of the film. But it says a lot if that’s the film’s low point. Even as the film’s weakest point, Another Way’s core same-sex romance is successful, moving, and does bring humanity to a story that could easily get bogged down in themes and commentary. Overall, this was a very successful movie about a historical regime I knew little about.

Overall rating: 8.2/10

Other WLW films in similar genres