Watch My 20th Century

My 20th Century is a mesmerizing film that delves into the themes of identity, freedom, and adventure. Directed by Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi, the 1989 film stars Dorota Segda as twin sisters Lili and Dóra, who are born on the night of the first public lighting of Edison's electric light bulbs in 1880. The two sisters have wildly different personalities, as while Lili is a free-spirited adventuress who dreams of travel and independence, Dóra is more conservative and yearns for stability and security.

As the sisters grow up, their paths diverge even further, with Lili embarking on a series of daring exploits and adventures, dressed as a man and using her wits to outsmart men who would oppress her. Meanwhile, Dóra marries a wealthy industrialist named Zsigmond (Oleg Yankovskiy) and settles into a life of luxury, but still feels unfulfilled and trapped by societal expectations. The film also features a third central character, Hanni (Paulus Manker), a hypnotist who is obsessed with the idea of creating an artificial woman, and who becomes entangled with both Lili and Dóra in unexpected ways.

What makes My 20th Century such a captivating film is its rich, dreamlike visuals and its evocative exploration of different eras in modern history. From the gas-lit streets of Victorian Budapest to the gleaming modernity of 20th-century Paris, Enyedi's vision of Europe is one of constant change and flux, with technology and progress shaping the world around the characters in ways they cannot always control. This is symbolized by the recurring image of trains, which appear throughout the film as a symbol of both freedom and entrapment - a mode of transportation that can take people wherever they want to go, but can also carry them away from the lives they once knew.

Through Lili, Dóra, and Hanni, Enyedi explores themes of gender and sexuality in ways that feel both timeless and ahead of its time. Lili's masculinity is both a form of rebellion against the patriarchy and a way for her to assert her own agency and independence, while Dóra's marriage is shown to be a form of self-delusion, as she struggles to reconcile her desire for passion with her fear of breaking social norms. Hanni, meanwhile, is a fascinating character in his own right, a deeply flawed man whose desire to create an artificial woman speaks to his own anxieties about intimacy and connection.

Despite the film's often surreal and impressionistic style, My 20th Century is grounded in sharp, incisive writing that bristles with wit and irony. Enyedi has a keen eye for the absurdities of life, particularly when it comes to the ways people act out their desires and fears. This extends to the film's visual style, which often incorporates playful touches of surrealism and magic realism to heighten the emotional impact of certain scenes.

Overall, My 20th Century is a stunning work of art, a film that defies easy categorization or explanation. It blends elements of historical drama, feminist manifesto, and experimental cinema into a singular vision of modernity and wanderlust. At times melancholy, at times whimsical, and always thought-provoking, this is a film that lingers in the mind long after the credits roll.

My 20th Century is a 1989 comedy with a runtime of 1 hour and 42 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.1 and a MetaScore of 81.