My 20Th Century

Awarded the Camera d’Or for best first feature at
the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, Hungarian trailblazer
Ildikó Enyedi’s My 20th Century is a luminous,
unconventional fairy tale. Two twins, Lili the anarchist and
Dóra, a luxurious woman of loose morals (both played
by the young Polish actress Dorotha Segda), are separated as young girls. Their lives proceed
on opposing tracks until their paths reconnect on the Orient Express with Mr. Z. (Tarkovsky
mainstay Oleg Yankovsky) who loves them jointly. Defiantly in pursuit of happiness and in retreat
from the “mass murdering century,” they are all entranced by Thomas Edison’s inventions and
drunk on the miracle of existence. Among the greatest of cinematic debuts, My 20th
Century introduced the world to Enyedi (On Body and Soul), who remains a vital, distinctive
artist into the 21st century.