I just finished the film. I watched it on DVD over a period of a few days. I refused to watch it all at once. I know some will criticize my method of viewing. I also know nobody in my social circle who would watch this with me. Sadly I am not able to talk about with this film with them so I came to this website yet again. I am not one of those people who are going to claim the film a masterpiece and the most amazing film I've ever seen. Nor am I going to be one of those people that call this film a boring self indulgent mess. I can see both sides and I think both opinions have some merit. I like art cinema but I too have limits. I didn't sit through an entire Tarkovsky film at a theater and I found David Lynch's Inland Empire excruciating. But I saw Werkmesiter Harmonies and I was so mesmerized that I had to check out Satantango. The movie is basically a series of beautifully stark and minimal black and white photographs that move. The heavy atmosphere is quite palpable and I appreciated visiting this world where no technology, cars, or plumbing exist (and when you see a static laden TV later in the film you will be startled by it's seemingly alien presence in this film's environment). I liked the score which was alternately eerie, pretty, and even zany. I was impressed by images of tumbling windswept litter, roaming cows in what appears to be an abandoned farm village (perhaps my favorite shot), the gradual emergence and gradual dimming of light, a stark journey by foot into darkness and rain by a character who seems to border on death more than once, and an owl spying on some sleeping newcomers. I also loved the same periods of time being revisited from different points of view. This film was indeed boring in places. Anyone telling you that they were not bored at all during this film is not an ordinary person. For the most part, the long tracking shots and real time pacing create a hypnotic effect or give you a heightened sense of really being in the "here and now" with the film but there were many scenes that were simply mundane (getting dressed, breaking for lunch, packing for a trip) or absurd (long silences with actors simply looking into each others eyes before finally speaking). Finally, I absolutely hated the cat torture scene which lasted much longer than I expected. I almost quit viewing the film as I felt privy to a feline snuff film. The director has told people that the cat did not really die and he actually owns the cat as a pet. Be that as it may, you will still be watching a vulnerable and innocent animal being brutalized for an extended period mind you and I can't abide by that. This part of the story was indeed one of the more fascinating elements but the treatment of this animal for the sake of the film was rather inhumane. I wish more people would criticize this directorial choice but many don't even bring it up. I'm glad I made it through the film. I wanted to test my patience. I wanted to meditate on the images and the unique sense of time. But I can't say that I was moved by the story or it's characters. It was a fascinating exercise for me and nothing more. I enjoyed Werckmeister Harmonies much more and consider it a superior but less ambitious film.
Review of Satantango
