The Notebook (Le Grand Cahier)

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War stories, far removed from the battlefield, offer a more honest and intimate glimpse into the psyches of the troops on the front lines. Hungarian director János Szász, known for the documentary Eyes of the Holocaust and his related contribution to TV miniseries Broken Silence, cracks the code on The Notebook (Le Grand Cahier), based on Agota Kristof’s novel and the Tom Abrams play. Working with András Szekér on the screenplay, Szász takes audiences inside the world of a pair of Hungarian twins (László Gyémánt and András Gyémánt), who, in order to survive a harsh year on the outskirts of the war in 1944, document the seemingly pedestrian evils of those around them. As the story progresses though, something profoundly frightening emerges in this portrait of the dark heart of humanity. (Opens Friday at Esquire Theatre) (R) Grade: B+