Love begins in Budapest
In the story, which takes place in modern-day Budapest, a young Vietnamese girl is on the verge of becoming an adult, not reconciled to the future that family traditions have set for her. He travels to Hungary to find out what happened to his grandmother at that time, which she refuses to talk about to this day. The girl secretly hopes that solving the family mystery will also help her solve her own insecurities. She meets a boy on the banks of the Danube, who is sure from the first moment that she is the love of her life.
Meanwhile, in the 1970s storyline, a Vietnamese student girl and a young man, top of the class, bump into each other in the corridor of the University of Agricultural Sciences. However, their increasingly serious relationship is closely monitored by the supervising officer: his task is to make sure that the scholarship recipients from Vietnam do not accidentally want to stay in Hungary, but instead work for their country after graduating.
Following the intertwining love stories, The Flower of the Apple Tree recalls the special atmosphere of Budapest in the 1970s and transports you to the Vietnam of that time and today.
The flower of the apple tree tells about the meeting of cultures and love without borders. About those pure, honest emotions that can move mountains and fulfill the will of fate. We brought an original story, based on real foundations, to the screen with the hope of giving positive experiences and happy moments to viewers who yearn for romance.
– highlighted director Dóra Szűcs.
With the support of the National Film Institute, the main characters of the work were Nari Nguyen, Dzhuliya Lam, and Balázs Koltai-Nagy and András Sütő.
Nari Nguyen has lived in Budapest since she was born, moviegoers saw her for the first time in the movie Comrade Drakulic, and in 2011 she was chosen as the beauty queen of Vietnamese girls living in Europe. The male protagonist is Balázs Koltai-Nagy, recent winner of the Junior Prima Award, artist of the József Katona National Theater in Kecskemét.
The script was written by Dang Thanh Binh and Dóra Szűcs, who is also the director of the film. The production duties were performed by Lea György (The Danube and the Mekong have one voice, Partisan love, Hungarian shovel) and Anna Sípos (producer of Kukkfióka and A orange passport, production manager of Külün Falka), who was also the film production manager.
Eszter Csepeli (The Execution, Hungarian Whiskers) and Gábor Szilágyi (Ernellá’s With the Foxes, Ice Cream Can Be Dangerous) were the cinematographers of the film, which was shot in Hungary and Vietnam. The composer was Dániel Csengery, the visual designer was Edina Szabó, the costume designer was Edit Szűcs, the sound engineer was Tamás Varga, and the editor was Flóra Erdélyi.
The flower of the apple tree can be seen as a Valentine’s Day surprise in previews from February 14, and as a premiere in cinemas from February 16, distributed by Vertigo Média.
Watch the movie trailer: