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Written by: László Krasznahorkai (novel "Sátántangó"), Mihály Vig & Péter Dobai & Barna Mihók (story), László Krasznahorkai & Béla Tarr (screenplay)
Directed by: Béla Tarr
Starring: Mihály Víg, Putyi Horváth, Miklós B. Székely, Erika Bók, László feLugossy
Rated: NR [R]
Watch the trailer
Plot
In this Hungarian film, residents of a collapsing collective farm prepare for a large payout after the fall of Communism. Their plans turn into desolation when they discover that Irimiás, a former co-worker who they thought was dead, returns to the community.
Verdict
This is easily the longest movie I've ever watched at seven hours and twenty minutes. I appreciate what this does; breaking the boundaries of what's considered a typical movie. Scenes are not only long takes, but it also lets us live in this tiny village and really feel what life is like there. We're not just watching the residents, we're living with them. It creates an undeniable mood. Few would make a movie this long because the very length is a deterrent. I respect everyone involved in this movie that defies convention. I'll never watch this again, but I'm glad I saw it once. It really is a movie buff or film student type of movie. The average person would quickly grow bored of this, even if they could get over the idea of the length.
Skip it.
Review
Writer and star Mihály Vig also composed one of my favorite scores,Valuska, for the movie Werckmeister Harmonies (2000).
The direct translation of the title is Satan's Tango. At more than seven hours long, this is daunting. Tarr has expressed his wish for viewers to watch it uninterrupted. I was unable to indulge such a desire. It's a well regarded movie and the length interested me as a novelty. It's one thing if this were a mini-series with break points, but it is not. No average viewer would attempt this movie.
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| Mihály Víg, Putyi Horváth play Irimiás, Petrina |
The very first scene provides an indication as to why this is so long. It's a shot of cows exiting a barn, wandering around a muddy field. It's a long and unbroken shot that transitions to two of the town's inhabitants. It's an artistic movie, shot in black and white with long scenes and sparse dialog. Every aspect of this movie slows down deliberately. We're not watching scenes, we're watching life in this village. Life is slow and thus the movie is slow.
Schmidt (László feLugossy) comes home talking about money. He doesn't realize his wife is having an affair with Futaki (B. Miklós Székely) who overhears. Futaki wants in on this scheme with Schmidt and Kraner. Instead of paying out the farm shares to residents, they plan to keep the money.
The pacing fits a seven hour movie. An hour in, and we only have a vague idea of the plot. This movie takes its time. Irimiás (Mihály Vig) returns. Everyone in the community thought he was dead. Initially I didn't understand the policeman's context. It's a long conversation to get to the point that the police want Irimiás to work for them. The guise is the pretext of order and law. They want him to spy. He's a remnant of the past regime and authoritarian policies.
Everything about this movie is long, but it all ties back to the mood this movie creates. We're not watching characters, we're spending time with them as we watch their daily lives. This is like a small town documentary. It's very deliberate. You could argue there are several superfluous scenes or scenes that continue longer than they should, but that's the point and goal. We experience life of these people at their pace. We don't just watch Irimiás and Petrina walk the road for a moment or get an impression, we walk it with them. The doctor observes the community, jotting notes of what's happening. He doesn't seem all that difference from the audience.
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| Putyi Horváth, Mihály Víg play Petrina, Irimiás |
There's a money tree scam at some point that has to be a nod to the plot. Easy money is never that. Irimiás shows up and manages to talk most of the inhabitants into giving him their shares under the guise of starting a new collective farm.
While I understand the intent, that doesn't mean I enjoy this. It runs counter to every expectation I have for a movie, which I appreciate. It's one of the slowest paced movies I've seen and the run time supports that. This explodes past the boundaries and restrictions of what's typical. I'll watch almost any movie that pushes against the constrictions of what can be a movie. No scene is a quick summary. We watch the characters lives unfold, as dull as that frequently is. We inhabit the moments. The time gives us a sense of life in this community and how difficult it is.
I appreciate what this does, and I'm glad to have the experience but it's not something I'll revisit. The last couple of hours did begin to feel long. Irimiás reports back to the police as contracted. His report likely provides nothing, and the police edit it so it doesn't portray the community so harshly. It's a continuation of the prior regime and secret police that surveilled everyone. Ultimately it provides nothing and only increases paranoia. That kind of policy could be the very reason the collective farm failed. It pushes people to look out only for themselves, and that doesn't work in a collective.
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