Satantango
oh I don’t know where to start cuz I feel like this something much bigger than me.. while watching it, I couldn’t stop thinking about that Chantal Akerman’s quote:
‘when people are enjoying a film they say ‘I didn’t see the time go by’… but I think that when time flies and you don’t see time passing by you are robbed of an hour and a half or two hours of your life. because all you have in life is time… with my films you’re aware of every second passing through your body’.it really fits this one, and that’s why I love films that are longer that usual. this very reminded me on her style in general too. i think Bela Tarr was captivated by the concept of time, which is used as the central theme of her cinematic exploration. and the only work that matches the feelings that this film evokes in me is 'Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles'. the influence of time on the viewer causes a profound sense of immersion, allowing them to experience the routine existence of the characters over the span of seven hours, gradually falling into the film's despair and enabling them to perceive life through the director's perspective. the influence of time on the the characters, who progressively see the devastation of their the village and the domination of their life by the capitalist system, best conveys their devastation and shows how the social environment breaks their destinies.
*I would never call this film boring. because this film represents a life. this film represents someone's reality. unfortunately, some people's lives are just like that. It's a pretty dark film, but I believe the emotions it evoked in me were mainly positive (except for the cat scenes, which I found painful and difficult to watch). I believe we all have films that we might consider high art that evoke a feeling that no matter what we say about them, it will not be able to convey their full cinematic impact. and that's how I felt the entire time I was watching it: sublime, infernal, and complex feelings. It's disturbingly beautiful, and it's not often where a film, both thematically and narratively, as well as visually, fits perfectly with my cinematic preferences. I just love this kind of films (I can't describe it in words, so I had to make a list, yes). *I really want to look at Bela Tarr's other works now because I believe he could be my director, and I get a lot of inspiration from artists who are important to me. I was also confused that it was released in the mid-90s, as I was always sure that it was released in the period of the 60s or 70s. and Hungarian is such a beautiful language, oh my God…
#soundtrack!!#90s#drama#hungarian#1001 movies you must see before you die#2025 watch#béla tarr#black and white 🖤