Tender Son: The Frankenstein Project

Tender Son: The Frankenstein Project (Hungarian: Szelíd teremtés: A Frankenstein-terv) is a 2010 Hungarian film written and directed by Kornél Mundruczó,[1] developed from his own theatrical play and loosely based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The film was screened in the main competition at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival,[2] where it was poorly received by critics.

Tender Son: The Frankenstein Project
Theatrical poster
Directed byKornél Mundruczó
Produced byViktória Petrányi
Screenplay byKornél Mundruczó
Based onTender Son: The Frankenstein Project
by Kornél Mundruczó
Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley
StarringRudolf Frecska
Music byPhilipp E. Kümpel
Andreas Moisa
CinematographyMátyás Erdély
Edited byDavid Jancsó
Production
company
Proton Cinema
Release date
  • 22 May 2010 (2010-05-22) (Cannes)
  • 9 September 2010 (2010-09-09) (Hungary)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryHungary
LanguageHungarian
Budget€ 1.6 million

Cast
  • Rudolf Frecska as boy
  • Kitty Csíkos as girl
  • Kornél Mundruczó as director
  • Lili Monori as mother
  • Miklós Székely B. as father

Production

The film was produced by Proton Cinema with co-production support from fellow Hungarian companies Filmpartners and Laokoon Film, Germany's Essential Filmproduktion and Austria's KGP Produktion. It received 150 million HUF (€540,000) in support from the Motion Picture Public Foundation of Hungary and 145,000 Euro from the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung in Germany. The total budget was €1.6 million.[3][4]

Reception

Peter Brunette of The Hollywood Reporter was highly critical of the film: "One wonders what the grand poobahs at the Cannes Film Festival were thinking when they chose "Tender Son -- The Frankenstein Project," a disastrously bad Hungarian film, for the competition. It's pokey and pretentious, and all character motivations, which are often contradictory if not ridiculously illogical, seem based on the film's symbolic needs rather than on real-life psychological desires."[5] In Variety, Boyd van Hoeij was disappointed with how the filmmakers had bypassed the original novel's mythological allusions: "Mundruczo and regular co-scripter Yvette Biro (Delta, Johanna) have completely neutered Shelley's clever notion of a hero [sic] incompatible with his surroundings by replacing the monster with a flesh-and-blood human with no backstory, turning him into a supposed equal rather than a misunderstood outcast. Without a clear understanding of his psychology or past (How was he treated in the orphanage? How does he feel about his parents' absence for most of his life?), his random killing spree seems simply incomprehensible and vile."[6] In 2010, film won Special Jury Prize at Sarajevo Film Festival.[7]

References
  1. Smith, Ian Hayden (2012). International Film Guide 2012. p. 134. ISBN 978-1908215017.
  2. "SZELID TEREMTES - A FRANKENSTEIN TERV (TENDER SON - The Frankenstein Project)". festival-cannes.com. Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  3. Dercsényi, Dávid (2009-08-27). "Production: Mundruczó films Frankenstein project". Film New Europe. Archived from the original on 2009-08-30. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  4. Lemercier, Fabien (2009-09-03). "Mundruczo shoots The Frankenstein Project". Cineuropa.org. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  5. Brunette, Peter (2010-05-25). "Tender Son -- The Frankenstein Project -- Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
  6. Hoeij, Boyd van (2010-05-23). "Tender Son - The Frankenstein Project". Variety. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
  7. "16th Sarajevo Film Festival". Sarajevo Film Festival - Official Website. sff.ba. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
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