obloquy wrote:I believe it is now OK to review this movie without gloating about its length and, therefore, how exclusive its appeal must be.
It would be difficult to avoid discussing these issues, given that the length of the film is a crucial element of its
mise-en-scène and indeed
raison d'être - Tarr explicitly made the film to be as exclusive as possible, not least because few cinemas would ever be likely to screen it.
Here's an extremely relevant passage from András Bálint Kovács' contribution to Wallflower Press's
The Cinema of Central Europe:
Tarr's radical gesture was a challenge for cinemagoers in favour of European culture. It was as if - through shock-therapy - he was trying to lead them back to the recognition of what real film art is about. Black-and-white was the answer to the over-coloured mayhem of today's visual culture. The style of long takes and no cuts was a response to the raging pace sieving from commercials and video clips. Seven and a half hours were a response to today's film style of superficial, quick reactions and subliminal effects. The story of little plot was a response to the action-packed, aggressive plot-structures. Sátántangó in all its elements is an extreme counterpoint to the developments that started in the film culture of the 1990s and remain prevalent today.
As for "gloating", that's the last thing I feel like doing right now. I've had the discs since last week, but am still trying to find a clear seven-hour slot to watch the film in one go - and will probably end up relying on my wife's impending absence (she's away for a week to attend her best friend's wedding), as there's no chance whatsoever that I can do it when she's around! To say that she's likely to be unsympathetic to a film like this is putting it very mildly indeed...
(Thankfully, although I am a professional film critic/historian, I don't actually have to review this film, so don't have to worry about deadlines!)
