Tiny Joys

Tiny Joys

**1/2

Reviewed by: Angus Wolfe Murray

The idea is hardly original - follow some people who have answered classified ads in a freebie paper and see what happens.

A conjurer wants a car; a gay guy wants a motor bike; a student of music wants a fat girl. There are others, but you forget about them quite quickly.

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This is 25-year-old Ibolya Balint’s third documentary. Such an achievement would be impressive in the West, but in a former Soviet satellite state it is inspirational. Sadly the film doesn’t match her ambition.

None of the characters are in any way exceptional and Balint respects their anonymity, dipping a toe into their lives with the utmost discretion. You get to know them a little and, like in soaps, you want more. But you don’t get it.

There is charm, it’s true, and there are running stories that are never resolved. As a patchwork collage of second hand shopping, Tiny Joys is tiny and relatively joyful.

Reviewed on: 22 Jun 2009
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A comedy of manners exploring the use of classified ads in small town in Transylvania.
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Director: Ibolya Bálint

Year: 2009

Runtime: 67 minutes

Country: Hungary

Festivals:

EIFF 2009

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