Gábor Reisz unveiled his extraordinary talent with For Some Inexplicable Reason and Bad Poems. With his new film, he raises the bar even higher. Explanation for Everything not only conquered the Orizzonti Competition in Venice but could easily compete for the Golden Lion. The filmmaker follows the journey of teenage Abel, who is approaching his final exams and has a secret crush on his best friend. The weight of his conservative parents' expectations burdens him, making his future seem foggy and uncertain. A seemingly trivial incident during a history exam triggers a cascade of events that overwhelm not just the protagonist. Reisz proves to be a masterful storyteller who, much like the New Wave masters, takes his time to weave conflicts and build tension. The first half suggests an innocent coming-of-age chronicle, but the second delves into the radicalization of sentiments in Hungary. Ideological and intergenerational disputes are fueled by national media, making social divides increasingly difficult to bridge. The Hungarian reality strikingly mirrors what we see in Poland. It’s not the first time that Hungarian cinema outpaces the rest of Central and Eastern Europe in diagnosing the pressing issues of our times.