Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
Director
Dénes Nagy
Cast
Ferenc Szabó,
Tamás Garbacz,
László Bajkó,
Gyula Franczia,
Stuhl Erno,
Zsolt Fodor
Genre
War,
Drama,
History
World War II, occupied Soviet Union. István Semetka is a simple Hungarian farmer who serves as a Sub-Lieutenant in a special unit scouting for partisan groups. On their way to a remote village, his company falls under enemy fire. As the commander is killed, Semetka has to overcome his fears and take command of the unit as he is dragged into a chaos that he cannot control.
Screen Daily by Lee Marshall
Natural Light is a tough, slow film that makes demands on its audience – though much of the real horror is as just-off-screen for us as it is for Corporal Semetka. But it’s also an absorbing, beautifully crafted, thought-provoking addition to the new Hungarian cinematic wave.
CineVue by Christopher Machell
Natural Light illuminates the fading glow of humanity amidst horror.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
This is a world of brutality and fear from which the movie averts its gaze at key moments, but the chill is unmistakable. The title appears to refer to a light which is inexorably fading.
The Playlist by Jack King
For a film that so often trades in claustrophobic close-ups, some of the strongest compositions in Natural Light are its grander landscape shots, making a sinister beast of Hungary’s jagged treelines.
The Film Stage by Rory O'Connor
Nagy’s is a story of bleakness, a test of endurance, and a reminder that war is a hell that, atypically, refuses to rely on gratuitousness. And it ultimately, just about, earns that overbearing solemnity.
The Observer (UK) by Simran Hans
In theory, natural light is more forgiving than its artificial counterpart: in photographs, it makes the subject look less harsh. Less so here.
Empire
The forceful imagery and acute sound design make Natural Light worth surrendering to, but a frail narrative may leave you feeling like you’re in no man’s land.
The Hollywood Reporter by Deborah Young
The finale is telegraphed far in advance, yet when it comes the drama is so down-played it doesn’t register in its full horror.
The Irish Times by Tara Brady
Adapted from a section of Pál Závada’s 2014 novel, from the first wintry opening shot in which hunters hack away at a dead deer, Natural Light is a chilly, unknowable film, one that repeatedly evokes brutality and the more desolate tableaux found in Andrei Tarkovsky’s work to deadening effect.
Variety by Jay Weissberg
Audiences amenable to cold, meticulous shots where people are accorded the same attributes as a landscape will find elements to admire, and certainly on a cerebral level there’s much to appreciate, yet Natural Light sheds no warmth and offers no insight into the horrors of the human condition during wartime.
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