Friday, September 9, 2011

Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)

Werckmeister Harmonies • Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)
Werckmeister Harmonies • Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)


Genre: Drama
Director: Béla Tarr
Starring: Lars Rudolph, Peter Fitz, Hanna Schygulla
Duration: 145 min.
Rating: 9.3  

Summary:
Janos is a wide-eyed innocent who works as an occasional postal worker and as a caretaker for Mr. Ezster. An outsider and a visionary, he marvels at the miracles of creation, from the planets rotating in the heavens to the sundry animals on earth. One day, a circus arrives featuring jars full of medical anomalies and a massive dead whale, along with another more sinister attraction, a shadowy figure dubbed "The Prince".



Werckmeister Harmonies is a film from Hungarian director Béla Tarr, co-directed by Ágnes Hranitzky and based on a novel by László Krasznahorkai titled The Melancholy of Resistance.  The followup to 1994's seven-hour long epic Sátántangó, the film's title refers to Andreas Werckmeister, a baroque era composer famous for devising the well tempered tuning system.

The film follows Janos (German actor Lars Rudolph) a decent and inquisitive young man who works nights delivering the local newspaper while also looking after elderly György Eszter (Peter Fitz), a music theorist who devotes his time trying to come up with a replacement for what he sees as Werckmeister's flawed system.  Though much like with his previous films, Tarr isn't interested in any traditional plot based storytelling, rather letting his wonderful images and sound do the work.

Werckmeister Harmonies • Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)

It opens with a familiar setting for a Tarr film, the local pub.  The proprietor extinguishes the wood burning heater and announces it's closing time, but the drunken patrons refuse to leave until Janos explains to them the phenomenon of a solar eclipse.  So they clear a space, and he proceeds to demonstrate rather amusingly, using a few unusually cooperative inebriated volunteers as stand-ins for the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon.  Manipulating them into their orbits like some kind of bizarre barroom dance.  In the midst of Janos' impromptu lecture a beautiful piano melody starts to play and continues through the rest of the scene, until the barkeep has finally had enough and ushers them impatiently out the front door.  All of this is shown in one remarkable unbroken ten-minute long take.  Another brilliant film opener, establishing right away that this is not going to be a normal film.

We then accompany Janos on what appears to be his normal daily routine.  First heading to his uncle Eszter's house to help him to bed (I'm not sure if this is really his uncle or whether it is just a term of respect but I don't think it matters to the story), then off on his job delivering the local paper.  Along the way, he witnesses the arrival of a large and ominous trailer into town, one that casts a terrifying shadow even in the dark.  We learn from a sign glued to a post, that it is a traveling circus, it's chief attractions being an enormous stuffed blue whale, and a mysterious individual billed as "The Prince".  On his rounds we also overhear the towns residents speak warily of this new arrival, spreading rumors of impending dark and evil happenings.

Werckmeister Harmonies • Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)

It's a chilling setup perfectly crafted by Tarr, who now proves that he has a firm grasp on his unique brand of filmmaking.  This film took over four years to make and there are six different cinematographers listed in the credits, but you couldn't tell from the finished product, the result is all one singular vision.  Tarr confidently knows exactly what he wants to show the audience and exactly how to film it.  Giving us evocative images that not only entertain, but provoke thought and contemplation.  There's also a more refined and polished feel to this film that we only saw glimpses of in his earlier work.  Highlighted by the fantastic opening scene mentioned above, and also by his signature shots of characters simply walking, of which there are plenty here.  It still isn't a technically perfect film, with some minor things like the dubbed Hungarian dialog not always matching up with the German actors, but none of those flaws truly hinder the experience.

After seeing Sátántangó I didn't think that Tarr would ever be able to top that film, I'm not sure if this strange, surreal, profound and sometimes frightening film does, but it certainly matches it as a pure and otherworldly cinematic accomplishment.
 
Bonjour Tristesse

Werckmeister Harmonies • Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)

Werckmeister Harmonies • Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)

Werckmeister Harmonies • Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)

Werckmeister Harmonies • Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)

Werckmeister Harmonies • Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)

Werckmeister Harmonies • Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)

Werckmeister Harmonies • Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)

Werckmeister Harmonies • Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)

10 comments:

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah, it's not that he was shooting for 4 years, he's always had difficulty getting funding in Hungary, so when he runs out of money everything gets put on hold.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yes that is a great descriptor, and I hope you do too, this one especially.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah I love discovering these obscure gems.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Doubt we will ever get a chance to find out.  He has said that his latest film that came out earlier this year will be his last.

Hoi-Ming Ng said...

Hmmm, I don't know about this one.

d4 said...

4 years to make the follow up to the 7 hour film that I now feel the need to watch much sooner than intended. This one will be a treat too, I'm sure.

Moviemonstrosityblog said...

Again, something special from Hungary ( I did know about these beautiful eastern pearls)

The Angry Lurker said...

He's definitely in love with his craft, I wonder how he would do with Hollywood?

moviesandsongs365 said...

Wow, 9.3! looks to be strong for atmosphere, already on my to-see-list, I really need to seek out Werckmeister Harmonies soon

Mette said...

I hope I'll have the opportunity to watch some of those "beautiful eastern pearls", as Moviemostrosityblog called them... sounds really great.

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