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Werckmeister Harmonies
A stuffed whale sparks social apocalypse in this haunting cinematic masterpiece from Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky.
Director: Béla Tarr
Overview
Béla Tarr explores a shadow-steeped mode of infernal quasi-surrealism in this adaptation of co-writer László Kraszahorkai’s 1989 novel The Melancholy of Resistance. A small Hungarian town is rocked by the arrival of a travelling attraction: a massive stuffed whale, presented by a mysterious figure known as ‘The Prince’. The resulting unrest upturns the life of Lars Rudolph’s stargazing innocent, newspaper delivery man János.
Legendary Fassbinder star Hanna Schygulla shines as the enigmatic local matriarch Tünde, the estranged wife of János’ ‘uncle’ and a catalyst in the escalating chaos. And the extended sequence of a crowd rioting through a hospital is one of cinema’s most unnerving visions of social apocalypse. Shot by a team of cinematographers, including noted director Rob Tregenza, this is the most intensely nocturnal of Tarr’s films – a haunting cinematic nightmare without equal.
Contains one use of strong language
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