bela tarr has got to have one of the most consistent cinematic universes of any of the canonical modernist auteurs. the opening of this film feels like it might as well pick up directly from where Satantango ends—i’m pretty sure it’s even the same barroom set? it’s a sublime opening. very glad that i saw the new 4k restoration in a nice cinema, because the shot of him receding into the darkness very crucially, imo, depends on the alternate bands on light and dark in the frame, which are poorly reproduced in the scans i’ve seen online. the music, as ever, is the absolute STAR!! of tarr’s oeuvre.
the visual symbolism in this film is next level, the major advancement from Damnation / Satantango. i liked the story a lot, too. the climactic action scene was not very well acted—it was clear that the extras were holding back, unfortunately, but the conclusion hits hard. the camera movement in this film is ratcheted up, too; as i recall, it’s more complex than Damnation / Satantango. however, i found myself actually getting kind of tired of tarr’s schtick, and i can understand why he made the decision to retire. it becomes clear that, although narrative possibilities are endless, he was coming to the end of possible fresh combinations of the tarr style.
the bela tarr cinematic universe from Damnation forward is based on a small number of consistent stylistic and thematic elements. the mud, the boots, the shitty ruined little hungarian towns, the apocalyptic themes, the poetic dialogue, the non-naturalistic acting, the stark black and white, the music, the long takes…but the camera movement just came to feel like a gimmick in this film, i’m very sad to say. it’s the most obviously virtuosic and ostentatious element of his style, and it STICKS OUT!!! his oeuvre is so deeply mired in the mud, in harsh realities, desolate, abandoned landscapes, proletarian visages, stark contrast. everything boiled away as in the apocalypse that he evokes. but the camera movement is so flowery, such a flourish!! i wish he were more minimalist with the compositions, like hong sang-soo, or weerasethakul.