Information AboutSatantango |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SATANTANGO | |
| 1994 films | |
| hungarian films | |
| hungarian-language films | |
| drama films | |
| films over seven hours long | |
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PLOT SYNOPSIS, STRUCTURE & THE STYLE OF FILM-MAKING The plot deals with the collapse of a collective farm in Hungary near the end of Communism . Several people on the farm are eager to leave with the cash they will receive for closing down the community, but they hear that the smooth-talking and charismatic Irimias, who had disappeared over two years ago and whom they thought to be dead, is coming back. Much of the film's plot concentrates on the impact and consequences of Irimias' return through multiple POV s as the communers must cope not only with Irimias' scheming, but that of each other's. The structure of the film is based on that of the novel, which borrows, as its title suggest, from Tango . That is, the film is broken into twelve parts, and does not necessarily move chronologically, as it follows the tango scheme of going six moves forward, then six back (hence 6 + 6 parts in total). The twelve parts are titled as follows ''(in original Hungarian)'':
The film is filled with numerous Long Take s, which has become almost synonymous with Tarr's work, and perhaps this factor alone, which greatly contributes to the film's meditative pacing, has made people draw parallels between Tarr and Andrei Tarkovsky . According Tarr himself, there are roughly only 150 shots in the entire filmhttp://www.brightlightsfilm.com/30/belatarr1.html — A Bright Light Film Journal Interview with Béla Tarr. Many shots last up to nearly 10-11 minutes, such as several dance sequences, during which the camera rarely moves, but we see the main characters dance and drink. (Tarr has said that the cast was actually drunk during these scenes)http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,461921,00.html — A Film Guardian Interview with Béla Tarr The opening shot lasts nearly 9 minutes, in which the camera trucks alongside a herd of cows. There are numerous shots where the main characters walk (and walk) for minutes at a time, and there are no cuts. Whereas films that feature long takes usually have many short takes to offset the long ones, this film does not. Also worth mentioning is that although this film is based on literary sources and Tarr and his team did write a screenplay, much of it was still improvised on set. Tarr had this to say on the subject of having a screenplay, but on his filming method in general: ::''No, we never use the script. We just write it for the foundations and the producers and we use it'' ::''when looking for the money. The pre-production is a very simple thing. It takes always a minimum of one year.'' ::''We spend a year looking all around and we see everything. We have a story but I think the story is only'' ::''a little part of the whole movie.''http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/01/12/tarr.html — ''Waiting For the Prince: An Interview with Béla Tarr'', by Fergus Daly and Maximilian Le Cain RECEPTION, INFLUENCE & AVAILABILITY The film, understandably, has developed a cult following, also because of its artistry and length, but mainly because it isn't available on DVD (only bootlegs transferred from old VHS sources exist). Thus, much of its reputation today has spread among film enthusiasts thanks to the word-of-mouth on the Internet. Included in its admirers are American filmmaker Gus Van Sant . His films Gerry (Tarr has a thank-you credit in the closing credits) and Elephant draw Satantango in many different ways. Gerry uses lengthy tracking shots, and Elephant tells the story from different points of view like Satantango. Both films also make an experimental use of unfamiliar sounds in the background. The film was praised by many critics who considered it a crack in the face to the 90s "friendly foreign" film. The critics argued that Satantango was made for the art of film, as opposed to many foreign films in the 1990s, which seemed more concerned with reaching a crossover audience than making a deeply artistic film. The film has been the subject of controversy. The film has a sequence, in which a child tortures and poisons her cat. This led to some difficulties in getting the film shown in the UK because of legislation protecting animals from cruelty, and the British Board Of Film Censors refusing to certify such films. Tarr has insisted that there was a veterinarian on the set at all times, and that the cat was under the vet's supervision. Tarr has also said that the cat is now his pet. The film was briefly out on VHS and DVD in the 1990s, but as of 2006, it is no longer available. It is infrequently shown due to its lengthy running time. Usually it might be shown in two parts, or in its entirety with two intermissions. Tarr has said the film should be shown without any interruption, but this is usually impossible to do. It is considered a masterpiece by critics, and people who have seen it are usually astonished by its ambition, its artistry, and its uncompromising vision. Considering its status as a cult film similar to Rainer Werner Fassbinder 's Berlin Alexanderplatz , it has been the subject of endless speculation regarding its release on DVD. Artificial Eye has been long rumoured to be working on a release (they have released two of Tarr's films, Kárhozat and Werckmeister Harmóniák as a double-disk), yet this hasn't been confirmed. Also, The Criterion Collection is another candidate among fans to release the film eventually. Neither mention has any factual revelancy grounded in reality. NOTES EXTERNAL LINKS & FURTHER READING
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