HIGH PRICE FOR FREEDOM
GENRE
MEMOIR
Core Theme
THE STRUGGLE OF A RELATABLE YOUNG HUNGARIAN COUPLE TO SURVIVE A REPRESSIVE COMMUNIST REGIME AND FIND A WAY TO ESCAPE FO A FREER LIFE IN THE WEST.
TIME PERIOD
2000s,1980s & '90s
COMPARABLE TITLES
BROOKLYN; '68
CHARACTER LIST
MARIA IMRE, 20-50S. BEAUTIFUL, DARK HAIR, DETERMINED AND INTELLIGENT; SHE IS A HARD WORKER WHO IS DRIVEN BY THE HOPE OF A BETTER FUTURE.
DZESO IMRE (24-LATE 50S), MARIA'S HUSBAND. DARK HAIR, BLUE EYES, HANDSOME. HE IS SKILLED WELDER AND INNOVATOR.
MARIA'S MOTHER (50S-70S), A POIGNANT FIGURE WHO IS LEFT BEHIND WHEN HER DAUGHTER EMIGRATES.
FERENC, 40S-50S, HUNGARIAN AMERICAN WHO EMPLOYS DZESO; HE IS SHADY AND GREEDY.
CLARA, 50S. A KINDLY WOMAN MARIA MEETS IN AN LA PARK, WHO HELPS HER FIND WORK.
THERESA, 50S. ONE OF MARIA'S HOUSE CLEANING CLIENTS, SHE LOANS THEM HER HOUSE.
Logline
The book eloquently captures our family story starting in the days we fell in love. This memoire talks about very important factors on our life's journey. On the road of life we experienced success, joy, happiness, disappointments, hate and painful tears which helped us appreciate life.
Target Audiences
Age: 35-54,18-34
Target Gender: Universal
Setting
Slovak Republic and California
Based on a True Story
Yes
Publishing Details
Status: Yes: with a Publisher
Publisher: WingSpan press
Year Published: 2021
Starting Description
Our wedding ceremony in a small town church and on the street where the two families (city and village people) get into the fight.
Ending Description
On the family ranch our friends and neighbors (cowboy families) gather for my husband's memorial who was an inventor.
Group Specific
Information not completed
Hard Copy Available
Yes
ISBN
978-1-63683-027-8
Mature Audience Themes
Information not completed
Plot - Other Elements
Meaningful Message
Plot - Premise
Other,Quest
Main Character Details
Name: Dezso and Maria
Age: From 20 to 55
Gender: Male
Role: Logical
Key Traits: Aspiring,Gracious,Educated,Honorable,Skillful,Visionary
Additional Character Details
Name: Maria
Age: 20 to 50
Gender: Female
Role: Logical
Key Traits: Aspiring,Gracious,Educated
Additional Character Details
The author has not yet written this
Additional Character Details
The author has not yet written this
Development Pitch
Life is about endless learning. People who can dream big and have strength are the ones who can enjoy even the obstacles on the road of life. Maria and Dezso could be the role models for many with their strong characters and powerful will. Dezso's lifetime dream was to be an inventor. In age of 50 he reached that goal. Thousands of people around the word get healed with the spine surgery tools and implants he invented. A doctor wrote about him: "Having known and worked with Mr. Imre I would like to speak to his character. He is intensely honest, extremely hardworking and as a person, a pleasure to work with. At least I should include one reservation about him, but I find my self at a loss because I can't find any reservation in regard to Mr. Imre". He is the main character in the memoire.
Genre
DRAMA, ROMANCE, POLITICS
Brief
A personal memoir of a Hungarian couple who escaped the repressive Communist regime in the early 1980s and emigrated to the States. Maria cleaned houses for wealthy families while Dzeso, a skilled welder, created sophisticated medical instruments. They achieved their California dream but Dzeso sadly died in his 50s of cancer.
Overall Rating
FAIR
Narrative Elements
Authors Writing Style: FAIR
Characterization: GOOD
Commerciality: FAIR
Franchise Potential: FAIR
Pace: FAIR
Premise: FAIR
Structure: FAIR
Theme: FAIR
Accuracy of Book Profile
Yes, it's pretty accurate.
Draw of Story
Personal view of life behind the Iron Curtain in repressive Soviet-era Czechoslovakia. An ordinary, relatable young couple fight hard to achieve their dreams and escape to the States. A lesson in how easy we have it in the West compared to people growing up in Communist-era countries.
Possible Drawbacks
No, it was a pretty good story.
Use of Special Effects
THE STORY DOES NOT RELY ON SPECIAL EFFECTS
Primary Hook of Story
Newlyweds in love struggling to deal with a repressive Communist regime and eventually escape to the States. The lead characters are honest, earnest and relatable, making them easy to root for.
Fanbase Potential
Not necessarily. It's a small personal memoir without the greater backdrop of World War or devastating political events. But many US immigrants of Hungarian heritage might enjoy this story.
Awards Potential
It has award potential as an indie movie but not as a 'tent pole' movie without a bigger political/war time hook.
Envisioned Budget
LOW BUDGET
Similar Films/TV Series
BROOKLYN; '68
What’s New About the Story
An honest and heartfelt personal memoir that details the journey from enduring a repressive Communist regime to a nail-biting escape to the West. Adding a fictionalized lawyer to try and help win back Dzeso's stolen patents might add a layer of poignant conflict that shows how immigrants are treated.
Lead Characters
Dzeso and Maria both come across as honest, hard-working and in love, determined to make the best of whatever life throws at them. They are down to earth and easy to root for.
Uniqueness of Story
It's a very well done personal memoir. In order to be more appealing as a cinematic adaptation, some scenes might be heightened - like the 1968 uprising or fighting to win back Dzeso's stolen patents.
Possible Formats
Film: Indie
Analyst Recommendation
CONSIDER
Justification
It's an illuminating personal memoir that shows just how hard immigrants have to work to escape a repressive regime and make it in a new country. It offers two good leads for talent.
Brief
An eloquent personal memoir that details the hard work and endurance immigrants must have to survive a repressive regime and figure out how to escape to the West - and then survive in a new country.
What We Liked
A classic rags-to-riches tale of a young Hungarian couple struggling to survive a repressive Communist regime. Their grit, intelligence and devotion to each other provide a strong lesson in integrity and endurance.
A personal memoir that lends itself to a gritty indie movie; the two leads are well-developed, good roles for talent and solid characters who draw us deeply into their story. The contrast between a Communist regime and the States is intriguing.
Key points: Personal account. 1960s Communist-era Eastern Europe. Tough fight to survive. A couple's devotion to each other. Seeing the States through immigrant eyes and realizing how much we take for granted in the West.
Synopsis
MARIA (20s-50s) and DZESO (24-late 50s) fall in love as students in Communist-ruled Czechoslovakia in 1962. They are Hungarian and ‘outsiders’ but a strong work ethic and devotion to each other sees them marry, get good jobs and an apartment granted by the State. They go on to have two children.
In 1968, there’s an attempted revolution by the people but it’s crushed by the Soviets. The young family is even dependent on the State to grant them passports. Finally, after many years of ‘trustworthy behavior’, they are given visas to travel in Europe – and make their escape.
They’re granted asylum status by Germany and then the States where they emigrate in the early 1980s. A single contact allows them to find jobs and they find success and financial security. In particular, Dzeso, a highly skilled engineer, helps create several cutting-edge surgical tools – but is barred from enjoying millions in profits when his patents are stolen.
Tragically, in 2001, Dzeso is diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer and passes away. Before he dies, he asks Maria to write down their story for posterity.