Review of Hukkle

The life of a small and poor Transdanubian village is presented in "the movie of noises". Dead and live matter, plants, animals and human beings are all shown as part of a greater unity. Noise is everything here: wind and water, cars and carriages, pigs, cats and moles, human activities like preparing food in the kitchen or the beat of sewing machines in a workshop are all equally important in the well composed symphony of noises. As a consequence, human actors do not speak: more precisely they occasionally do but we cannot hear what they say and their speech is just part of the noise. As the wonderfully photographed scenes advance in a slow pace, a dark and sad human ballad unfolds. The seemingly idyllic pictures hide a sick and hopeless local society where men are mostly useless and unemployed, where wives poison their husband (and accidentally others) and where all this is accepted as a fact of life. The story ends with the desperate expression of the local policeman who - although he is aware of all this - cannot decide what to do as practically all women (including his mother) is involved in the murders.

This is indeed a very strong movie, especially if you consider that it is the debut of a young director. The style, the visual and musical language is innovative and captures the viewer. I am not sure that the extreme story (the series of the murders) is really in place, perhaps a simpler, more down-to-earth story would have been a better choice, although I accept that the contrast of the dark and shocking story and the idyllic pictures adds extra and needed spice to the film.

In summary, this is in the "must" category. If you have a chance, go and see it!