Béla Tarr is a brilliant director but with frankly a heavy language for most audiences. I'm one of those who likes to enjoy a slow but beautiful film, like someone who tastes an excellent whiskey and wants to make the pleasure last on the palate. Here we have time to savor to exhaustion the beautiful cinematography of Gábor Medvigy and this Dantesque vision of Perestroikian Hungary presented to us by Tarr (and would be developed ad nauseam in Satantango a few years later). It is a cynical view not only of the regime but also of human nature itself, made by someone who is deeply skeptical of the virtues of our species.
Paradoxically, this dark and infernal vision of humanity is extremely beautiful when filmed under Tarr's direction. Not only is the aforementioned cinematography magnificent, but also the music (dithyrambic, bordering on the depressive), the pace of the film (between slow and incredibly slow), the sets (muddy streets, decrepit clubs, old cars), the characters (miserable almost pathetic) and the plot itself (perverse and totally devoid of scruples).
Anyone who appreciates the dark side of life rejoices in this terrifying vision of Tarr. For those who seek optimism in art then this film is a true descent into hell.
Paradoxically, this dark and infernal vision of humanity is extremely beautiful when filmed under Tarr's direction. Not only is the aforementioned cinematography magnificent, but also the music (dithyrambic, bordering on the depressive), the pace of the film (between slow and incredibly slow), the sets (muddy streets, decrepit clubs, old cars), the characters (miserable almost pathetic) and the plot itself (perverse and totally devoid of scruples).
Anyone who appreciates the dark side of life rejoices in this terrifying vision of Tarr. For those who seek optimism in art then this film is a true descent into hell.