Satantango

this was 7.5 hours long. the boredom is form and Bella Tarr wants you to feel it. i felt it - but at times, i also thought Tarr was fucking with me. there's a scene where you watch a guy slowly type up a report, but he takes a break and you're forced to watch him eat a pickle for 3 minutes, then you watch him get back to it. i know it's all intentional - an indifferent bureaucrat takes a pickle break while writing a surveillance report that will destroy lives - six hours into the film, you REALLY feel that fucking pickle - it's very smart. the whole film is very smart - it's meant to be satan's endless tango: six steps forward, six steps back. that's where i don't know how to feel because it's SO well done, and yet completely unenjoyable lmao. contrary to my expectations, i didn't find it pretentious at all. this IS exactly what it thinks it is, but wow it's a hard watch. 7 hours of Soviet bloc depression core / nihilism. i don't think it's a waste of time - it's really cool to have experienced once - but i will never be revisiting this one.