Fateless (film)

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Fateless
Hungarian-language poster
Directed by	Lajos Koltai
Written by	Imre Kertész
Produced by	Lajos Koltai András Hámori Ildikó Kemény Jonathan Olsberg Lajos Szakacsi
Starring	Marcell Nagy Áron Dimény András M. Kecskés József Gyabronka Endre Harkányi
Cinematography	Gyula Pados
Edited by	Hajnal Sellő
Music by	Ennio Morricone
Distributed by	THINKFilm
Release dates	8 February 2005 (2005-02-08) (Hungarian Film Festival) 6 January 2006 (2006-01-06) (United States)
Running time	136 minutes
Countries	Germany Hungary United Kingdom
Languages	Hungarian German English
Box office	$2,512,009[1]

Fateless (Hungarian: Sorstalanság) is a Hungarian film directed by Lajos Koltai, released in 2005. It is based on the semi-autobiographical novel Fatelessness by the Nobel Prize winner Imre Kertész, who also wrote the screenplay. It tells the story of a teenage boy who is sent to Auschwitz and Buchenwald.^[2]

The film's music was composed by Ennio Morricone, and one of its songs was sung by Lisa Gerrard. The film is one of the most expensive ever produced in Hungary, with a cost of $12 million.^[2] The film also features British actor Daniel Craig, who plays a cameo as a United States Army sergeant.

The film was screened in Hungary and Germany (at Berlinale), at the Telluride Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado as well as the Toronto International Film Festival.^[3]

Holocaust film scholar Rich Brownstein, who lectured at Yad Vashem about the history and quality of Holocaust films, regards Fateless as one of the greatest Holocaust films ever made. In his 2021 Holocaust Cinema Complete: A History and Analysis of 400 Films, with a Teaching Guide, Brownstein wrote, "Like The Grey Zone (2001), the Hungarian film Fateless - Sorstalanság (2005) is among the most unknown and underrated of all Holocaust films. Fateless stands alone presenting one person’s journey from innocent young man to death camp survivor. Certainly, part of Fateless’ greatness resulted from the authentic screenplay by Nobel Laureate for Literature Imre Kertész (1929 - 2016), based on his semi-autobiographical novel from 1975: Fatelessness. And perhaps Fateless’ beauty resulted from the gorgeous cinematography of first-time director Lajos Koltai (1946 - ), who is best known as an Oscar-nominated cinematographer, with more than 60 films under his belt from 1970 through 2006. And Fateless could be great also because of the acting of newcomer Marcell Nagy, whose character moves seamlessly through the Holocaust with dignity and grace."^[4]

• Nominated – Golden Berlin Bear – Lajos Koltai^[5]
• Nominated – European Film Award – Best Cinematographer – Gyula Pados^[6]
• Nominated – European Film Award – Best Composer – Ennio Morricone^[7]
• Official Selection – Berlin Film Festival 2005^[8]
• Official Selection – Telluride Film Festival 2005^[9]
• Official Selection – Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
• Gala Presentation – Edinburgh International Film Festival^{[citation needed]}
• Special Presentation – Toronto International Film Festival^{[citation needed]}
• Chicago International Film Festival 2005^[10]
• AFI Los Angeles Film Festival 2005^[11]

• Sorstalanság at IMDb