Satan's Tango: You can tell from the first 10 minute enormous tracking shot following cattle meandering in the rain through a devastated, crumbling, seemingly deserted village, that it was going to be THAT kind of film.
This is Hungary after the withdrawal of the Soviet occupation of 40 years, and we are at a collective farm on the Hungarian great plain that has collapsed along with Communism.
Surreal, mesmerizing, sinister it challenges the mindful viewer to look closely, and listen, rather read closely, except I was lucky to do both. This film is for more mature audiences. I would compare it to plunging into Shakespeare drama that is really hard to follow at first, but pulls you on regardless, even if you are not getting everything, with a big payload.
I could not believe I was watching it from when I got home from work till after midnight. One main theme that stuck out for me was how developing a public persona, and the art of speech can be so powerful. The enigmatic central figure, Irimiás, is an epitome of this. Good looking, tall, educated, and with a golden tongue, he sure has a Satanic allure for whom the disparaged, uneducated villagers dance the tango.
There are some really funny parts too, the old doc watching and writing everything down in an alcoholic haze, then especially when the two officers rewrite Irimiás' letter and how they describe the villagers. The scene with the little girl and her cat is a heart stopper. I did not get everything to a T and want to read more about this, and want to watch it again.
This is Hungary after the withdrawal of the Soviet occupation of 40 years, and we are at a collective farm on the Hungarian great plain that has collapsed along with Communism.
Surreal, mesmerizing, sinister it challenges the mindful viewer to look closely, and listen, rather read closely, except I was lucky to do both. This film is for more mature audiences. I would compare it to plunging into Shakespeare drama that is really hard to follow at first, but pulls you on regardless, even if you are not getting everything, with a big payload.
I could not believe I was watching it from when I got home from work till after midnight. One main theme that stuck out for me was how developing a public persona, and the art of speech can be so powerful. The enigmatic central figure, Irimiás, is an epitome of this. Good looking, tall, educated, and with a golden tongue, he sure has a Satanic allure for whom the disparaged, uneducated villagers dance the tango.
There are some really funny parts too, the old doc watching and writing everything down in an alcoholic haze, then especially when the two officers rewrite Irimiás' letter and how they describe the villagers. The scene with the little girl and her cat is a heart stopper. I did not get everything to a T and want to read more about this, and want to watch it again.