PTAbro's World Tour Stop 11: Hungary

"The world has gone completely mad. Now it's not down here, but up there where something's gone wrong."

János is a simple man; a servant and an idealist. Always being tasked with jobs no one else wants to do, like putting unruly children to bed or delivering an ultimatum to his closest friend from his conniving ex-wife, it is poetic that what he's actually paid to do is deliver the news that no one else wants to hear. Everyone around him refuses to hear the truth, and since it is his job to do so, he is relegated to a gopher in order to delay his inevitable announcements until it is too late. It's…

Why do I hold Werckmeister Harmonies aloft as the greatest film I have ever seen? A huge part of it, admittedly, and the thing that makes me think it will remain my favourite film to the day I die, is its profound personal relevance. I first saw the film about 5 years ago now, at a time when my interest in cinema was in the very very earliest stages of blossoming. It blew me away. Takes that long, images that symbolic, music that intoxicating, scenes that spellbinding, meanings that elusive... it was far too much for my uninitiated mind to deal with, but I knew that it was changing me. What's funny is that I encountered it entirely by mistake:…

Part of Lise and Jonnie’s What A Wonderful World: May 30 days, 30 countries.

Film 5 – May 5 – Hungary

My initial reaction after watching Werckmeister Harmonies ( besides running up to the cold dark attic and burying myself in whatever fodder I could find ) was to chicken out and toss off a non-review as I had done with The Turin Horse. Maybe a quip about the Prince, maybe an observation that Giant Whales coming to town is never a good sign. No, I’ll try to at least put down some impressions without any time to contemplate.

Since there is no way to compare Werckmeister to any film that I’ve ever seen except my only other Tarr, I’ll…

Part of the 30 countries festival. Hungary

"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." – Matthew 12:40

Werckmeister Harmonies... Three days in the life of János, three days in the making of a revolution in a small Hungarian town, three days of threat, darkness, ignorance, duplicity. A three day eclipse of the sun/Son.

"And just imagine, in this infinite sonorous silence, everywhere is an impenetrable darkness. Here, we only experience general motion, and at first, we don't notice the events that we are witnessing" – János Valuska asking three drunks to play the sun, the moon…

Béla Tarr is not a colorful director. Instead he communicates through his black and white images all the messages and meanings intended. Who needs shades of blue and red when his world speaks only of dark shadows and foggy whites? He has a gift for massaging his photography to go beyond realms of modern filmmaking. Of the two films I’ve seen in his library, he pays perfect tribute to the Social Realism movement and even reminds me of the Great Tarkovsky with his long shots of lonely actors trudging across his barren landscapes. That is really the key to admiring his work, realizing where it comes from.

If there is one thing I can’t stand it’s when the circus drives…

I don't think I can quite collect my thoughts about Werckmeister Harmonies just yet but I will give it my best.

Being heralded and praised so much by just about everyone whom I trust I figured it was about time I ventured into the world of Tarr and, well, people weren't lying. Perhaps the first thing that sprung to mind are the aesthetics. Shot in Black/White and consisting of many one-take scenes several minutes long, sometimes with very little dialogue, Werckmeister Harmonies is a daring and unconventional film but it is important for this film to work. In fact, it is surprisingly accessible and despite being very obviously a highly layered film with an abundance of possible interpretations rather easy…

Béla Tarr is not a colorful director. Instead he communicates through his black and white images all the messages and meanings intended. Who needs shades of blue and red when his world speaks only of dark shadows and foggy whites? He has a gift for massaging his photography to go beyond realms of modern filmmaking. Of the two films I’ve seen in his library, he pays perfect tribute to the Social Realism movement and even reminds me of the Great Tarkovsky with his long shots of lonely actors trudging across his barren landscapes. That is really the key to admiring his work, realizing where it comes from.

If there is one thing I can’t stand it’s when the circus drives…

PTAbro's World Tour Stop 11: Hungary

"The world has gone completely mad. Now it's not down here, but up there where something's gone wrong."

János is a simple man; a servant and an idealist. Always being tasked with jobs no one else wants to do, like putting unruly children to bed or delivering an ultimatum to his closest friend from his conniving ex-wife, it is poetic that what he's actually paid to do is deliver the news that no one else wants to hear. Everyone around him refuses to hear the truth, and since it is his job to do so, he is relegated to a gopher in order to delay his inevitable announcements until it is too late. It's…

30 Countries Challenge // #5 - Hungary

I'm sure fans of Werckmeister Harmonies have already seen the score I've given this and are readily sharpening their pitchforks, so I'm not sure anything I can say will spare me from being looked down on. I'll start just by saying: I tried. I really tried.

It's funny how people can have such differing opinions. Even narrowing down to such a minute amount of people (i.e. those who care for film enough to write about it on the internet), it's incredible how tastes can differ so greatly. I think I can safely say if it wasn't for this website, and this 30 Countries challenge in particular, I would NEVER have watched this film.…

Part of the 30 countries festival. Hungary

"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." – Matthew 12:40

Werckmeister Harmonies... Three days in the life of János, three days in the making of a revolution in a small Hungarian town, three days of threat, darkness, ignorance, duplicity. A three day eclipse of the sun/Son.

"And just imagine, in this infinite sonorous silence, everywhere is an impenetrable darkness. Here, we only experience general motion, and at first, we don't notice the events that we are witnessing" – János Valuska asking three drunks to play the sun, the moon…

Part of Lise and Jonnie’s What A Wonderful World: May 30 days, 30 countries.

Film 5 – May 5 – Hungary

My initial reaction after watching Werckmeister Harmonies ( besides running up to the cold dark attic and burying myself in whatever fodder I could find ) was to chicken out and toss off a non-review as I had done with The Turin Horse. Maybe a quip about the Prince, maybe an observation that Giant Whales coming to town is never a good sign. No, I’ll try to at least put down some impressions without any time to contemplate.

Since there is no way to compare Werckmeister to any film that I’ve ever seen except my only other Tarr, I’ll…

Mankind is always seeking for answers. They have, in fact, a tendency to create queries for which there are no answers to keep themselves questioning. Is there a God? What's the meaning of life? In Bela Tarr's masterful Werckmeister Harmonies, the mystery posited before us is the eye of a slain great white whale, a swirling vortex of light in the middle of darkness which looks as if it contains all the answers to all the questions of the universe. It's obviously a metaphor, but what does it mean? What's the answer?

To get to that, it helps to look at how the film portrays the inquisitors. Humanity in Werckmeister Harmonies is a strange beast, as capable of committing atrocities…