The rippling fallout of war on families has long been fertile ground for cinema — trauma is calcified while secrets from the past become myths, either perpetuated long enough to solidify into fact or exposed as falsehoods that cause entire identities to be questioned. The latter is the case in Orphan ( Árva ), the meticulously crafted though narratively uneven third feature from László Nemes, whose shattering debut, Son of Saul , was a 2016 Oscar winner. Bouncing back seven years after the barely penetrable Sunset , the Hungarian director’s new film takes its time to kick in but is a uniquely personal coming-of-age drama.

The rippling fallout of war on families has long been fertile ground for cinema — trauma is calcified while secrets from the past become myths, either perpet

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