In many of the psychological dramas about children and adolescents out there, the mystery initially centers whether such a youth committed a crime. But as compelling storytelling should go, the mystery then bleeds into the questionable proportion of responsibility adults have over children’s bad behavior (which, unsurprisingly, is quite a huge chunk). In the 2023 film Explanation for Everything (Magyarázat mindenre in Hungarian), there isn’t much of a question as to what happens: high school student Ábel (Gáspár Adonyi-Walsh) flubs his oral history exam when he’s unable to produce an answer despite sufficient prodding and cushioning from the panel of teachers. After an awkward and perhaps fatal silence, one of the teachers, Jakab (András Rusznák), asks why Ábel has a nationality pin on his suit. The scene cuts there.
The film’s absence of suspense is certainly not a shortcoming, as the historical and cultural context enriches the conflicts that surround the main characters. Audiences outside of Hungary may not be aware of the divisiveness that comes up with mentioned names and events, but even that shouldn’t hinder from falling in step with the story’s pace and tension. In fact, it feels like a coy wink from the writers Gábor Reisz and Éva Schulze to have a film so engaged with the country’s history without expectation from the average viewer to know such facts and also depict how a Budapest school challenges students to cite the influence of the Industrial Revolution or the impact of the Mongolian invasion.
If pointing out the gaps of the American education system isn’t the point (and it really isn’t – just a joke about Western-centric views!), then it feels ironic how Ábel’s father György (István Znamenák) emphasizes the importance of passing the exam (“Everyone in the family has passed,” he shares, though a later admittance by the school principal tells us that only two students has ever failed) yet doesn’t quite understand what he’s trying to promote. Within the film, we find out that György is a supporter of the national conservative party led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, which has caused a heated discussion with the more liberal Jakab. When Ábel recounts the story of failing his exam to his parents, he implies that Jakab had set him up to fail, which incenses György.
The supposed bias becomes a national scandal once a journalist hears about the situation, but it seems like our characters have a few things on their plate to worry about it. György’s persistence in passing an exam that relies heavily on knowing the history of other countries is not contradictory to his own beliefs, but when he becomes disgruntled at an employee who wants to leave the city for a better-paying job, it seems like György is somewhat of an angry loyalist. Jakab spends time outside of his job trying to complete a less-than-successful documentary about the country’s 1956 revolt, which puts strain on his long-suffering wife. And Ábel — he’s just a kid who has a crush on a friend.
Even with an entanglement of personal, professional, and political minds, Explanation for Everything cleanly cuts its story so that it feels as engaging for historians as it is for moviegoers. I see the story of a teenager trying to please his family, a story about a father who wants the best out of a changing country, and a teacher who overworks for a side of a story that could be eradicating. The film especially feels advantageous of telling such a story because it relies on the idea of starting from the premise’s foundations and building the case up to let the characters speak before our perspective concludes it for us.
However, it’s understandable to feel hesitant about not fully understanding what being an Orbán supporter entails or why it is an issue to wear a flag enamel outside of a holiday. It’s much like how we feel what a Republican in 2025 means beyond its dictionary definition. But I would take this film as an applicability to any two sides butting heads. It demonstrates that it can be, in fact, easy to see how there are different opinions to view and support — after all, there is an explanation for everything.
Explanation for Everything
2023
dir. Gábor Reisz
151 mins
Screens Sunday, 11/23, 2:00pm @ Brattle Theatre
Director Gábor Reisz in person!
Presented by the Hungarian Society of Massachusetts
