Judit Ember returns to follow the life of Nóra Szabó, the heroine of her documentary film ????????????????????̈????????????́???????????? ("Instructive Story", 1975). The troubled young woman who formerly attempted to commit suicide by jumping off a fourth floor is now an unmarried and pregnant mother with two children. Her own mother also brought up her children in similar circumstances, in a closed community without men. But Jenő, the unflaggingly energetic labourer and father of Nóra’s third, as yet unborn child, brings change into their lives.
The protagonist of the film is Nóra, a teenager blessed with remarkable intellect, but unable to utilise her talents due to conflicts at school and with her family, with a tendency to harm even herself. The film looks back on the past life of Nóra and her circle of friends seven years back, investigating what brought them together then torn them apart as they have to face their old selves, lives and fates.
SELECTION documents a KISZ (Hungarian Young Communist League) chapter at an oil refinery that is interested in hiring a musical act as entertainment for young workers. The documentary shows the group discussing their criteria for the band, as well as their interviews with the individual bands. It is quickly apparent that the group isn’t interested in any sort of musical talent or the potential audiences’ interest. Rather, they are focused on ideological or moral issues that may be perceived as negative, such as groupies or outfits that are seen as too trendy. They settle on the musical group that is potentially the easiest to control, the youngest band. SELECTION works as a larger metaphor for what censorship was like in Socialist Hungary and was banned from being publicly screened until 1982.
