Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- bleak
- austere
- harrowing
- serious film night
- historical drama viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a powerful, austere adaptation of Ágota Kristóf's novel, though its emotional severity and detached style divide opinion.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The twin boys train themselves through repeated exercises and observations to endure hunger, violence, and emotional pain.
The twins record their discoveries and moral lessons in a notebook with studied objectivity.
The boys learn ethics from cruelty in a devastated Hungarian countryside rather than from family or social institutions.
The film contrasts the twins' methodical behavior with deprivation, abuse, violence, and the collapse of wartime society.
Films like The Notebook, and why
Ivan's Childhood
shared child perspective, wartime moral corruption, rural deprivation, and bleak coming-of-age drama
Come and See
shared World War II setting, endangered children, moral ambiguity, and harrowing historical drama
The Painted Bird
shared austere wartime atmosphere, childhood vulnerability, and psychological devastation
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
shared literary adaptation, ethical disintegration, and emotionally severe historical storytelling
Movie Details
- Director
- János Szász
- Release Date
- 2013-07-03
- Runtime
- 112 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (79)
Cast
- András Gyémánt
- László Gyémánt
- Piroska Molnár
- Ulrich Thomsen
- Ulrich Matthes
- Orsolya Tóth
- Péter Andorai
- Sandra Nedeleff
- Diána Magdolna Kiss
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Notebook about?
- Twin boys stranded with a brutal grandmother turn survival into a grim experiment in moral self-erasure during wartime Hungary.
- What is The Notebook like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Notebook as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Notebook violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Notebook as brutal.
- What did critics think of The Notebook?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a powerful, austere adaptation of Ágota Kristóf's novel, though its emotional severity and detached style divide opinion.
- Which films are like The Notebook?
- Films with a similar feel include Ivan's Childhood, Come and See, The Painted Bird, and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
- How long is The Notebook?
- The Notebook runs 112 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Notebook?
- In United States, The Notebook is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube.
