Post Mortem (2020) - full transcript

It must hurt.

A consequence of the force of the explosion.

SIX MONTHS LATER

Ache? Suffering?

You will experience it only in this realm.

Come on!

Listen to the man,

who is back from the Underworld!

Where will your loved ones end up
when their earthly lives come to an end?

Are you consumed by curiosity?
Overwhelmed with fear?

Learn the future of mortals.



It's just a few coins,

and the man who came back
from the underworld,

will tell you what he saw!

We will shed light on the
eternal mystery!

Find out what happens after death!

Post...

...mortem...

...photos.

She was so beautiful.

She no longer feels pain.
She found peace.

Entire villages are said to have died
of the Spanish Flu.

Only the girl and I got sick in ours.

You were lucky.

That I didn't die?



Is that your opinion of happiness?

I was floating in a bright light.

My body was weightless.

I was full of air, but I couldn't breathe.

Then, a beautiful woman approached me.

She hovered over me.

The light around us flickered

like the flames of a thousand candles.

Put your hands like this.

Pain and desires vanished.

I had everything there.

I alone was the whole world.

It was quiet.

Ready.

The room was filled with me.

Were you alone?

Alone? In such terrible times?

When more people die than live,
and ghosts haunt the world?

Ready.

I'll be right back.

-What are you doing here?
-Do you photograph the dead?

You've seen for yourself.

We also have dead.

Where?

In our village.

Will you come?

How will you pay me?

Do you also take pictures of ghosts?

That's not possible.

I'll go now. They are waiting for me.

Life grabbed my hand

and pulled me back from
the abyss of death!

The last photo of the deceased.

-A good souvenir.
-Very nice photos.

J?ska, do you think we could...

We're not bringing all the dead here.

How can I help you?

How many people have died there?

That's not why I'm going.

Of course. For the girl's sake.

-She's still a child.
-I'm not denying that.

But you're the one who said
she was beautiful.

I'm just repeating your words.

And adding some of your own.

They pay me for it.

Nobody wants to listen to crazies.

How long will you be gone?

I'll get a car back by the end of the week.

So much fuss about the kid.

She's the one who appeared to me.

You don't understand anything.

We would have buried them long ago,
but the ground was frozen.

So many poor dead, still unburied.
It's a disgrace.

Jutka, Tibor's widow, went crazy.

Her husband was already in poor health.

Caring for the sick is a heavy burden.

-What is your name, young man?
-Thomas.

Tam?s?

Thomas.

Tam?s. Nice name.

Here we say Tam?s. But Thomas sounds nice too.

Anna, take the basket!

Auntie!

No! No! Never!

Come!

Sio!

The animals are upset. Let's go!

Marcsa has a spare room.

He's looking for a room. Can he stay with you?

Only for a few days.

Here?

I'll get you a warm quilt later.

-Are you hungry?
-You hungry?

-Yes.
-Yes.

I can hear him. You can go. I'll let him eat.

Please sit down.

Danke sch?n.

You're not from Hungary.

-No.
-From Germany?

Yes.

I hear you're a photographer.

Yes.

Not very talkative.

Where are you going? Can I come with you?

Only if you are not afraid of death.

-It's nice here in the summer.
-I guess.

-Your mother lets you stay out this late?
-I don't have a mother. I only have an aunt.

-And your father?
-He's off fighting in the war.

-The war is long over.
-I know.

-You haven't spoken to him?
-No.

-How old are you?
-Twenty.

Ten.

Come!

Uncle Simon,

Aunt Anna, Gy?ngyike, Uncle ?rpi,

Uncle Zolt?n,

P?ter Tulip?n,

Anna Tulip?n, Marika Tulip?n,

Ede Schwartz,

Zolt?n Schwartz, Mrs. J?nos Beck,
Mr. J?nos Beck.

I smoked here with Little Feri!

-Am I scaring you?
-Yes.

-Who is Ma?y Feri?
-A boy from here. He also went to the army.

We smoked cigarettes together.

-Where did you get them?
-Feri stole them from his grandma.

Have you ever taken a tram?

Yes. It was undergound too.

There's no such thing.

There are. Believe me.

Let's go. Auntie is waiting.

Is anyone here?

-Good morning.
-Good morning.

I heard noises last night.

Are you afraid of the dark?

If I have reason to be.

I closed the house when my sister died.

Enter.

In here.

-Should I remove these boards?
-No.

I like dark rooms.

This one will be perfect.

The Wszuscys had such nice furniture.

-You can stay here.
-But Mrs. Marcsa...

They says she's a teacher?
Admittedly, there are no children here.

But there will be.

And Anna?

Anna is an orphan.

Her aunt "takes care" of her.
But actually, the opposite is true.

Her aunt had a stroke, so Anna
cares for her. She's a good kid.

It will be warm in here soon.
I'll go now.

-Have a nice day.
-Thank you.

-Imre let us in.
-I know.

Thank you.

Still warm.

This is her sister?

No, we brought her sister in last night.

I didn't even notice.

I want to add that...

May I?

Please look here.

You make my husband look great.

I could see him again.

-Thank you very much.
-You're welcome.

I'll let you know when they are ready.

I'll frame them. I'll choose a beautiful frame.

Hands down.

-Like this?
-That's good.

I know what you do. I saw you at the market.

She looks nice. Almost alive.

My aunt told me I was born worthy.

What do you mean?

The umbilical cord wrapped around my neck.

Auntie shook me until I came back to life.

You remember that?

Not like that old man in the market.

Not exactly.

What was that?

I don't know.

Can I see?

Young children usually fear death.

I'm only afraid of ghosts.

I have to go.

Lacika, aren't you taking off?

-Mom won't let me.
-Does she think this will protect you?

-Are you afraid of me too?
-Oh you! I'm only afraid of ghosts.

I'm not a ghost.

-Is your goat bloated?
-No! She's pregnant.

She'll fart a few times at most. You'll see.

One, two, three.

Kl?ri!

Bring the water!

He can't get out!

They're there, aren't they?

They're there. They did it.

What do you want?

What do you want?

No!

It's okay.

It's over. They went away.

Take it easy, sweetie. They are gone.
Do not be afraid.

-I'll get you out of here.
-Where?! They're everywhere!

-I only just saw them for the first time.
-You shouldn't be here!

Now they're mad at us! It's our fault!

-Why ours?
-I don't know.

But they never hurt anyone!

Until today. Run!

-Anna!
-You have to get out of here!

Get out!

-You have to leave too.
-I live here. You do not!

You can leave.

Wait!

They're everywhere.

Won't you tell me anything?

What am I supposed to say?

What's going on?

They've been here for a long time.

Please say something!

What the hell do you want to hear?

The war took many lives.

Even children were enlisted in the army.

The rest died of Spanish Flu.

The ground was frozen
and the dead were not buried.

What do you want?

What else should I be afraid of?

There is nothing here anymore.

I'm leaving tomorrow.

You are so comfortable. Leave this mess!

Instead of helping, you only make matters worse.

Tom?s!

We'll deal with this.

We will.

It's time.

-I'll bring you something to eat
-Thank you.

Aunt Ilus, what did you see?

Not much.

Someone running on the roof, I think.

Some thatch and mud fell off.

-Any strange sounds?
-No.

But I often hear a sigh and feel a chill.

Then the ladder that always leans
against the wall fell down.

That's all.

Aunt Keresztes. Just in time.

They asked what happened here.

That's why I came. Maybe I can help.

Definitely. Good morning.

I don't know much either,

but I was here at the beginning
of winter when it all started.

-It started suddenly at the beginning of winter?
-Not completely.

But that's when most of them showed up.

Please tell me about it.

One night...

Spit it out.

A ghost haunted my house.

It grabbed my ankle with
its cold hand.

I only felt bones. As if it didn't have skin.

Did it hurt?

No, but I was scared.

It was with me. It did not
answer me.

I smelled it.

In the morning, mold appeared
on the wall.

The walls seemed rotten. Pardon me.

It hasn't shown up since.

Do you know who it could have been?

Do you think it's the ghost
of an unburied?

I don't know. Maybe.

Lots of people died during that time.

The war, among other things.
My husband, two brothers.

Do you think...

...it's one of them?

I really don't know.

Either way, they never hurt anyone.

Sweetie, go see Emi.

Thank you.

Did you come back because of me?

Yes.

That's good.

No fingerprints.

There should be some in this dust.

Poor Auntie Kl?ri.

We'd better get out of here.

Yes?

Before the war, I was a servant
in a neighboring town.

At the judge's house.

His wife believed in ghosts.

Two others worked there. The house
was full of children, friends, guests.

That's why they needed help.

This woman summoned ghosts.

We laughed at it. People like us
don't believe in ghosts.

Some don't even believe in God.

One day, the judge felt sick.
A priest was summoned.

Then, this woman communed ghosts.

She asked them not to take her husband.

And he survived. Even though his
life hung by a thread.

The ghosts remained in the house.

How do you know this?

The porcelain. They made a mess.

It was bad. They threw a serving tray
down the stairs.

-And then?
-The priest was summoned to drive them out.

They burned sage and sprinkled the
ashes with holy water.

-Did it help?
-No.

They only stopped years later after
the judge died.

Ghosts don't like to be talked about.

I've been hearing their sighs for months.

I don't know how helpful that is.

I heard the ghosts. Now you hear
them too.

-Do they say anything? Can you understand them?
-They just whisper and moan.

These are not human sounds.

I understand.

Have you already talked to Jutka?

Chicory.

Better than nothing.

Can you tell us what happened?

Nobody believes me.

I don't even know whether it actually
happened anymore.

It was sitting in the same chair as you.

I was in the basement.

I heard a whistle

and its head...

...melted into its body.

I stood frozen on the threshold.

It melted.

Everything was wet.

Water was dripping down the walls.

-Can I have a look?
-Of course.

I need to feed the animals.

Thank you again...

...for this photo.

Is anyone here?

Speak up if you can hear us!

Speak up,

if you can hear us!

Is anyone here?

Nobody's here.

Tibor!

Jutka!

What are you doing?

What are you doing? Jutka!

Everything okay?

I'm crazy, aren't I?

I don't think so. Where is your
husband's body?

Over there. In the barn.

-Who are they?
-They are locals.

The baker, his daughter, his wife,
Aunt Kl?ri, Aunt Joli...

Slow down!

J?nos,

Uncle Vince, Mari,

Father G?bor,

Little Gergo,

Zolika,

Gabi.

Do you know how they died?

Those of Spanish flu. Those two as well.

The priest as well?

Beautiful.

Spongy chest, blue face,

waxy complexion. Suffocation.

How do you know all this?

I dealt with the care of dead bodies.

-Will you teach me?
-No way!

-It's not for children.
-Someday I'll be an adult.

But you are not one yet.

-Is this the priest?
-Yes. Father G?bor.

-Do you have a new priest?
-Not yet.

But everyone still goes to Mass
on Sunday.

And the rest of the dead?

-Uncle Vince froze to death.
-How?

No one knows. He was a shepard.
He just fell asleep.

They are all covered in ice.
How do you know they froze?

-And Tibor?
-There he is.

Post-explosion injuries.

There are bruises and death spots
on the chest.

You see? It's not our fault.

How do you know?

Because he has bruises.

-They all have them?
-No, only them.

-Soldiers?
-No, look.

Kl?ri has them too.

What causes them?

The force of the explosion. I had them too.

It's hits everything at once.

-Does it hurt a lot?
-Very much.

Can you die from it?

And they all...

Yes.

It's their doing.

The ghosts.

Oh my God! They move air! Understand?

They cause something like an explosion.

-Let's ask what they want.
-They don't speak.

I think they spoke at Jutka's.
They want to speak, it appears.

-They could kill us like Tibor.
-But they didn't.

They wanted to talk to us,
but we can't understand.

That woman heard them too.

We'll record them with a phonograph.

We will get pictures and ghost voices.

They're here too.

The ghosts seem to be attracted to the dead.

Mein Gott!

There are tons of them!

Thank you. Help me put it down.

-What are you doing?
-I'll record them.

You see?

The diaprhram vibrates from the
influence of sound,

and the needle scratches the cylinder.

When I press this switch,

everything is saved and the
vibrations are played.

This is how the sound is made.

We'll have to fasten the phonograph
to record.

Maybe this?

Perfect.

Wait here.

What's that?

You are the scariest girl.

What's that?

Pinhole camera.

Through this little hole, the light enters,

and creates a picture on the inside wall.

We'll see.

Here...

We have to come back before dawn for this.

-I'm cold.
-Yes, it's very cold in here.

Wine from Marcsy.

This is your story, isn't it?

What story?

You came back from the Underworld,
not that old man.

Yes.

-You look dead.
-He told me the same.

It was either a grenade or a mine explosion.

What happened next?

I don't know.

He says he pulled me out of the crater.
There was water all around.

He saw me among the dead. Still alive.

My aunt told me the same.

What?

She knew I was still alive.

I was choking. I was trapped.
She pulled me out.

I did not cry.

She shook me for a long time
to warm my blood.

Then I cried.

Sometimes, my aunt regrets that
she brought me back to life by force.

She thinks it was a bad decision.

But I think it was okay.

You don't remember anything either?

How did it feel to be there?

I remember something.

What the old man says about the
floating figure...

...he heard that from me.

He embellishes to interest people,but I
remember something else he doesn't know.

So you didn't come back just for me?

You came back for yourself too.

For you and for myself.

Move! Move! Hurry!

What are you doing out there?
Close the door, it's cold!

Lacika, your mom will be angry!

They are here!

They're under us!

Don't leave!

I'm scared.

Nothing...

No one's here.

Wait here, I'll get the camera.

Are you still there? Go away!

Speak up if you can hear me!

Tell us what to do! What do you want?

Why are you hurting people?

We want to help!

They're gone.

Don't ruin the tracks!

There are no tracks here.

What was that?

-I'm going to get my stuff.
-Would you like help?

Take a break.

-Good morning.
-Good morning.

-I'd like to take a bath.
-I'm just heating up the water.

Thank you.

Go back!

One more time.

There's nothing here.

And this?

It could be anything.

I'll go get the photos.

They're here! They're in the pictures!

-I can't hear you!
-One of the photos! Wait, it's almost done!

...take me to the graaaaaave...

Tom?s! Voices!

It spins too fast! Listen!

I can't hear you! What's that?

I can't hear it clearly!

Wait! The photo!

Turn it off for a bit!

It is impossible.

-And here?
-They look like that.

Look!

They are with the twins.

What's the boy got on his forehead?

He fell into an ice hole in the lake.

When?

I don't know. My aunt forbade me
to go there.

She was scared the same would
happen to me.

-What happened to him?
-I think they got him out.

You can only get there with a ladder.

The boy has been silent ever since.

And the photo?

-What is this black streak?
-I don't know.

What about those voices?

Listen! You need to slow down.

...take....graaaaave...

Tom?s...

...take me to my grave...

Tom?s...take me to my grave...

Take me to my grave...

Tom?s...

Tom?s...

-Do you know something?
-The photographer took pictures of the ghosts.

He recorded their voices as well.

-Is there a lot of them?
-Yes.

-Is it our relatives?-It's someone else.

I knew it wasn't them.
They wouldn't hurt us.

What do they want?

We don't know.

But Tom?s will find out. He
will talk to them.

How?

I've told you everything I know.

It was my house after all.

Good morning.

Aren't you cold, auntie?

It's blood.

Hello!

Is anyone there?

Hello!

Is anyone there?

Erzsi!

Oh my God!

I knew you would bring trouble!

May God forgive us! Let us pray!

The German made them angry!
Let's get out of here!

What happened?

Come on!

Oh my God!

Get away, Satan!

Leave the souls alone!

Bad spirits, go away! May God protect us!

Go back to the Underworld!

Lord, show the way for these lost souls!

Deliver us from evil!

Go back to Hell!

Give us peace!

Let us all pray!

-God!
-Let us pray!

-God, have mercy!
-Give us peace!

Go back to Hell!

Let us all pray to God!

Auntie!

Take me to my grave!

-Take me to my grave!
-Auntie!

To the church! Everybody get to the church!

You will give in to the spirits!

Anna, where are you?

Don't open it!

-Let me out!
-No!

No!

Let him out!

-Let me out!
-Don't open it!

Auntie!

-Your aunt will die. She's already dying.
-The ghosts have posessed Anna.

Look at me! They will leave you alone.
I promise.

Your aunt is dying.

Auntie!

Auntie will take them with her
to the Underworld!

She'll show them the way! Understand?

They need the dying! Like me, Anna,
the twin, the judge!

They go away with the dying!
Let's draw them all here.

-How?
-We'll bring the unburied here.

The unburied dead attract the ghosts.

Bring every one! I will stay with Anna.

I can't.

-Bring the dead here!
-Did you hear me? Let's go!

You opened the door to the Devil!
You are cursed!

Get out of here!

Hurry! Auntie is barely breathing!

We're going to die!

Hurry!

-Where are you taking them?!
-They'll help us.

-I'm not going in there.
-Me either.

Move!

Come out!

-It's not all of them!
-Go!

-Let her go!
-Get me out of here!

Don't leave me!

Get back!

What are you doing?!

You will lead us to the other side!

Help me!

Marcsa, be careful!

No!

Don't die!

Get up!

Get up!

Don't die!

-Have you ever been to this village?
-No.