Satantango

Bela Tarr's Satantango is usually famous for it's runtime of 7 hours and 19 mins. Tarr sets the atmosphere in a way that sets up the sequence of the film, making the story seem pessimistic and thus, sets the viewers into his world. Satantango dissects the human condition and psyche in a way that makes the characters feel realistic and has an interesting moral compass, alongside their actions and personality. The character of Irimias piqued my interest in this film. The film portrayed him as a sort of a Messianic figure who not only "ressurected" from the dead but promised to save the entire village by setting up a commune. But eventually, we realized that it was a mere scheme all along. It then sets up Irimias as a sort of a False Prophet/Messiah. To me, it seems that I can summarize it as this: Once you join in Satan's tango, there can only be despair. Satantango features us characters who revel in their own selfish desires. It then turns back to them when Irimias appeared who served not merely as a false prophet but a judgement wrought upon the villagers. Just imagine this vulnerable creature wandering all night long in the pouring rain, at the mercy of the first passer-by, of the first tramp, of anybody. She was whipped by the wind all night, she fell easy prey to the elements. She must have been around here, wandering here all the time. She may have looked in through this window and saw that you were all drunk and dancing around. Estike's death was a judgement wrought by the consequences of their selfishness as seen by the fabled money tree and their endless dancing. Their selfishness does not come without reason, the pessimistic world Tarr sets up has only brought hopelessness that the villagers could only fall to such hedonism in search of a way out of it. Satantango is a testament to the human mortality, morality and it's condition through a bleak, pessimistic atmosphere.