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Satantango (1994) - Directed by Bela Tarr
“Get it into your thick head that jokes are just like life. Things that begin badly, end badly. Everything's fine in the middle, it's the end you need to worry about.”
(Note: this is a REALLY old review from Letterboxd, revised for Movieforums).
One of the greatest challenges a film buff carries with him is the full understanding of filmmaking, and the incalculable techniques in which various films are made. And the greatest of these challenges may be the one classification that has a more vague description than most, if not all genres. That would be the art film, or the arthouse film. Art films are built upon being unique and unconventional. Yet, like any group of films in a genre, art films share certain qualities. Ever since I first saw Andrey Tarkovsky movies such as Stalker and Solaris, I have strove to understand the strangeness of the art film. I knew I would get a better idea the more I watched artsy films, but the term was so broad that I did not know where to look. Thankfully, I had one lead which I could not watch until recently: Hungarian director Bela Tarr's seven hour art epic, Satantango.
I finally realized the difference between the psychological drama and the art/experimental film: what people need to think about. Both rely on thought, which comes to no surprise seeing how psychological movies are a leading influence on art films. Another good example of thoughtful kinds of films is German Expressionalism, a German movement of cinema (and other art forms) that was hard to define save the expressionalist title that clearly defines that the art form is meant to have a very specific point, being somewhat distorted to give it a "surrealist" tone. In the end, it is a distorted but accurate depiction of the artist' opinion which the artist himself distorted. This idea of the distortion was to act as a visual parable/parody that would lead people to use their heads.
Using people's heads seems to be the definition of an arthouse film. In fact, that's what the novel, Satantango by László Krasznahorkai, based itself in: humanity. And humanity is a mindset in some ways. It's all about what you think about, logically or (the immature side) emotionally. Satantango has enough symbolism, logic, and distortion of the author's opinion to be seen as an arthouse novel (from what I've read about the novel). And as a result, the film is a perfect example of an art film. In fact, its sense of art is so overpowering that any and all flaws can not possibly stand a chance.
The story was written in 1985, four years before Hungary's communist rule went bust. And the novel itself can be seen as a hidden slap in the face at the many issues the author had with communism. The novel, and the film, take place in a post-apocalyptic version of Hungary where a small village is waiting for a yearly payment that will keep them alive. The various characters and their many scars are explored here: the antisocial Doctor, the demented little girl, the greedy brother, and (most importantly) the manipulative Irimias, who returns from a long journey to surprise the villagers who once believed he was dead. In the movie, the manipulative Irimias strikes a deal with a police captain that (as the novel explains) is an attempt to reconstruct a devil's hold on villagers by falsely gaining the trust of the villagers and turn them into a spy service without their knowledge, as he will keep tabs on them by scattering them around the country and starting from there.
In this hidden plot line, the film goer has plenty of time within the longshots to be drawn into the black-and-white bleakness that is a post-apocalyptic realm where the sun never shines. This time (created by the various longshots in the film) can be used to examine the scenarios, scenery, and especially the facial expressions of the characters and contemplate what is in their heads, which acts as a good part of the fun of this mysterious movie. As events unfold, the audience is helped in their journey to understand how the devil (symbolized in this movie as the once-communist police force) can take a grip on the people through blending truth with lies. Give people what they want to hear, and slowly change it. That's the devil's game.
I noticed a similarity between the spy service Irimias was setting up secretly and the strange acts of the Doctor: spying on people from his home and writing down what he sees. I'm still wondering if there really is a connection between the two, but it's an interesting to think about. In fact, Satantango offers many things to think about.
I think I can explain the fun one gets out of Satantango, as most cannot begin to put the sensation into words. I've once written a detailed description of alternative rock as a genre, something most see no point in doing. I state this to make my point here: I take the inability to explain a common phenomenon as a challenge. So here is my explanation. There are many deep emotions laying within Satantango, but the film is paced slowly so that one does not get too emotional at once. This pacing also helps to give the audience time to think about the more philosophical side of Satantango. The bleak atmosphere/human emotion combo and the slow pace act as a yin and yang that creates a catharsis, taking the human stress and relieving the audience of it so they can focus on the more philosophical side while still thinking slightly with the emotion which is constantly flaunted in the movie. All of these paint a perfect picture of a post-apocalyptic village and the human mind that resides in it, focusing on the distresses and forgetting about the good things in life (which most seem to have forgotten). That is the beauty of Satantango.
The film is constructed from the many influences of German expressionalism, foreign art films, and melodramas. And these work together to create what could essentially be the essential art film. That's what art films are. They get you to THINK. It's not the same thing as a psychological drama. You must think about the filmmaking itself as a message as opposed to a fancy way of looking at a story with a messager. The inner machinations of the characters' minds are the enigma. You must take time to think about EVERYTHING inside and outside of the film itself. This beauty makes the seven hour film so unique and complex that any flaws (such as the re-filming of the scene with the little girl and the Doctor clearly being different) are overpowered by this uniqueness. I see Satantango for being a unique and cathartic expression of human emotion.
“Get it into your thick head that jokes are just like life. Things that begin badly, end badly. Everything's fine in the middle, it's the end you need to worry about.”
(Note: this is a REALLY old review from Letterboxd, revised for Movieforums).
One of the greatest challenges a film buff carries with him is the full understanding of filmmaking, and the incalculable techniques in which various films are made. And the greatest of these challenges may be the one classification that has a more vague description than most, if not all genres. That would be the art film, or the arthouse film. Art films are built upon being unique and unconventional. Yet, like any group of films in a genre, art films share certain qualities. Ever since I first saw Andrey Tarkovsky movies such as Stalker and Solaris, I have strove to understand the strangeness of the art film. I knew I would get a better idea the more I watched artsy films, but the term was so broad that I did not know where to look. Thankfully, I had one lead which I could not watch until recently: Hungarian director Bela Tarr's seven hour art epic, Satantango.
I finally realized the difference between the psychological drama and the art/experimental film: what people need to think about. Both rely on thought, which comes to no surprise seeing how psychological movies are a leading influence on art films. Another good example of thoughtful kinds of films is German Expressionalism, a German movement of cinema (and other art forms) that was hard to define save the expressionalist title that clearly defines that the art form is meant to have a very specific point, being somewhat distorted to give it a "surrealist" tone. In the end, it is a distorted but accurate depiction of the artist' opinion which the artist himself distorted. This idea of the distortion was to act as a visual parable/parody that would lead people to use their heads.
Using people's heads seems to be the definition of an arthouse film. In fact, that's what the novel, Satantango by László Krasznahorkai, based itself in: humanity. And humanity is a mindset in some ways. It's all about what you think about, logically or (the immature side) emotionally. Satantango has enough symbolism, logic, and distortion of the author's opinion to be seen as an arthouse novel (from what I've read about the novel). And as a result, the film is a perfect example of an art film. In fact, its sense of art is so overpowering that any and all flaws can not possibly stand a chance.
The story was written in 1985, four years before Hungary's communist rule went bust. And the novel itself can be seen as a hidden slap in the face at the many issues the author had with communism. The novel, and the film, take place in a post-apocalyptic version of Hungary where a small village is waiting for a yearly payment that will keep them alive. The various characters and their many scars are explored here: the antisocial Doctor, the demented little girl, the greedy brother, and (most importantly) the manipulative Irimias, who returns from a long journey to surprise the villagers who once believed he was dead. In the movie, the manipulative Irimias strikes a deal with a police captain that (as the novel explains) is an attempt to reconstruct a devil's hold on villagers by falsely gaining the trust of the villagers and turn them into a spy service without their knowledge, as he will keep tabs on them by scattering them around the country and starting from there.
In this hidden plot line, the film goer has plenty of time within the longshots to be drawn into the black-and-white bleakness that is a post-apocalyptic realm where the sun never shines. This time (created by the various longshots in the film) can be used to examine the scenarios, scenery, and especially the facial expressions of the characters and contemplate what is in their heads, which acts as a good part of the fun of this mysterious movie. As events unfold, the audience is helped in their journey to understand how the devil (symbolized in this movie as the once-communist police force) can take a grip on the people through blending truth with lies. Give people what they want to hear, and slowly change it. That's the devil's game.
I noticed a similarity between the spy service Irimias was setting up secretly and the strange acts of the Doctor: spying on people from his home and writing down what he sees. I'm still wondering if there really is a connection between the two, but it's an interesting to think about. In fact, Satantango offers many things to think about.
I think I can explain the fun one gets out of Satantango, as most cannot begin to put the sensation into words. I've once written a detailed description of alternative rock as a genre, something most see no point in doing. I state this to make my point here: I take the inability to explain a common phenomenon as a challenge. So here is my explanation. There are many deep emotions laying within Satantango, but the film is paced slowly so that one does not get too emotional at once. This pacing also helps to give the audience time to think about the more philosophical side of Satantango. The bleak atmosphere/human emotion combo and the slow pace act as a yin and yang that creates a catharsis, taking the human stress and relieving the audience of it so they can focus on the more philosophical side while still thinking slightly with the emotion which is constantly flaunted in the movie. All of these paint a perfect picture of a post-apocalyptic village and the human mind that resides in it, focusing on the distresses and forgetting about the good things in life (which most seem to have forgotten). That is the beauty of Satantango.
The film is constructed from the many influences of German expressionalism, foreign art films, and melodramas. And these work together to create what could essentially be the essential art film. That's what art films are. They get you to THINK. It's not the same thing as a psychological drama. You must think about the filmmaking itself as a message as opposed to a fancy way of looking at a story with a messager. The inner machinations of the characters' minds are the enigma. You must take time to think about EVERYTHING inside and outside of the film itself. This beauty makes the seven hour film so unique and complex that any flaws (such as the re-filming of the scene with the little girl and the Doctor clearly being different) are overpowered by this uniqueness. I see Satantango for being a unique and cathartic expression of human emotion.