Overview
Set in 1980s Hungary, Béla Tarr’s epic masterpiece Satantango portrays the disintegration of a struggling agricultural community as seen from the perspectives of unfaithful lovers, scheming neighbours, an alcoholic doctor and a lonely, neglected child. When the promise of escape to a new life is offered, the squabbling group confront their suspicions, hopes and regrets.
A self-confessed outlier in the film world, Tarr initially attempted to make the film in the mid-80s, but had to wait several years when his film studio was closed by the then-Communist Hungarian government. It is a spellbinding, visionary marathon of a movie, and one that Susan Sontag described as “enthralling for every minute of its seven hours.” Ranked joint 78th in the 2022 Sight and Sound Great Films of All Time poll.
Related

Scum Scum
Drama 1979 97 mins Director: Alan Clarke
Director Alan Clarke examines the grim reality of borstal life in this searing remake of his previously banned television play.

The Kindergarten Teacher The Kindergarten Teacher
Drama 2018 97 mins Director: Sara Colangelo
Maggie Gyllenhaal gives a career-best performance as a kindergarten teacher who finds herself in an ethical quagmire after discovering the poetic talents of a precocious student.

War Pony War Pony
Drama 2022 115 mins Director: Gina Gammell and Riley Keough
The lives of two Oglala Lakota boys interlock in this coming-of-age drama set against the backdrop of South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation.
Chocolat Chocolat
Drama 1988 100 mins Director: Claire Denis
Claire Denis' fully formed debut offers a child’s-eye-view of racial and sexual tension that bubbles with unspoken desires.

Eat the Night Eat the Night
Thriller 2024 107 mins Director: Caroline Poggi and Johnathan Vinel
Siblings find passion and peril online and in the real world, in this visually electric French drama.

Pornomelancholia Pornomelancholia
Drama 2022 94 mins Director: Manuel Abramovich
Soulful docufiction featuring real-life porn actor Lalo Santos.

Sátántangó: Part One Sátántangó: Part One
Drama 1994 262 mins Director: Béla Tarr
Part One of Béla Tarr’s epic adaptation of Laszlo Karsnahorkai’s novel about the disintegration of an isolated community.

Sátántangó: Part One Sátántangó: Part One
Drama 1994 262 mins Director: Béla Tarr
Part One of Béla Tarr’s epic adaptation of Laszlo Karsnahorkai’s novel about the disintegration of an isolated community.

The Turin Horse The Turin Horse
Drama 2011 155 mins Director: Béla Tarr
Béla Tarr’s devastating, starkly pared-down final feature, inspired by Nietzsche.

Werckmeister Harmonies Werckmeister Harmonies
Drama 2000 147 mins Director: Béla Tarr
A stuffed whale sparks social apocalypse in this haunting cinematic masterpiece from Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky.

The Man from London The Man from London
Drama 2007 139 mins Director: Béla Tarr
Tilda Swinton stars in this profoundly nocturnal Georges Simenon adaptation.

Sátántangó: Part One Sátántangó: Part One
Drama 1994 262 mins Director: Béla Tarr
Part One of Béla Tarr’s epic adaptation of Laszlo Karsnahorkai’s novel about the disintegration of an isolated community.

Scum Scum
Drama 1979 97 mins Director: Alan Clarke
Director Alan Clarke examines the grim reality of borstal life in this searing remake of his previously banned television play.

My Favourite Cake My Favourite Cake
Romance 2024 97 mins Director: Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha
Life begins at 70 for Mahin, who decides to shake her life up in this charming, quietly subversive tale from Iran.

The Kindergarten Teacher The Kindergarten Teacher
Drama 2018 97 mins Director: Sara Colangelo
Maggie Gyllenhaal gives a career-best performance as a kindergarten teacher who finds herself in an ethical quagmire after discovering the poetic talents of a precocious student.

The Living Wake The Living Wake
Comedy 2007 92 mins Director: Sol Tyron
Accompanied by his faithful assistant Mills (Jesse Eisenberg), self-proclaimed genius K. Roth Binew (Mike O’Connell) decides to go out in style following a terminal prognosis – staging a living wake.

War Pony War Pony
Drama 2022 115 mins Director: Gina Gammell and Riley Keough
The lives of two Oglala Lakota boys interlock in this coming-of-age drama set against the backdrop of South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation.
Chocolat Chocolat
Drama 1988 100 mins Director: Claire Denis
Claire Denis' fully formed debut offers a child’s-eye-view of racial and sexual tension that bubbles with unspoken desires.