Sometimes when life gives you a raw deal, you hang on to the last straw, to can wits together and rebuild life, no matter what the odds. Haliuka is a feature film screenplay from Hungary by screenwriter Zsolt Pozsgai. This film is as much a road movie set in the vast, dry Mongolian landscape, as it is the protagonist’s search for a new meaning in her life.
When 42-Year-old Rosana is trying to get over the loss of her daughter and husband, she comes across some old records of her sponsoring a child in faraway Mongolia. This was her contribution to her father’s charity work, without being emotionally involved in. Invigorated at having found something she can call her own again, she sets out to Mongolia to look for her adopted child, of whom she knows nothing about, not even a name. She is not even sure if such a person really exists. Will this adventurous road trip through an inhospitable terrain, accompanied by her ex-husband, leads her to Haliuka, her adopted daughter, and is she prepared to learn of all the things that has transpired in Haliuka’s life since she started sponsoring her?
Very well written, the screenplay of Haliuka is fast paced and gripping. The well fleshed out primary characters, Rosana and Marco come to life as one goes deeper into the film and we start to see the arc in their relationship develop beautifully. Pozsagi’s proposed ending for the film traverses the thin line between satisfying every expectation and earning the displeasure of every viewer.
