werckmeister harmonies
SPOILERS
This film is inextricable from its use of time. The sustained shot upon the uncomprehending but curious face of János Valuska moves us past bathos, past pathos, to a blend of the two that sees in the face of actor Lars Rudolph evidence of a capricious and malevolent power that nevertheless exists.
Upon review, it seems inconsequential whether the violence originates in the mob of characters that stands on the event horizon of the discovery of the whale or in the Clean Town society - the idea of the dollfaced sexegenarian fascist, Auntie Tünde. The violence may come from a fascist distrust of technology and of science or it may come from the wish to cleanse the society (the rioters grab the patients from the hospital and beat them to death, seemingly intolerant of the filth of illness.)
What's clear on a second viewing is that the Whale is the eclipse - its eye has been replaced with a glassy portrait that sometimes looks like a human eye, always open and staring, but in the final shot is a picture of a solar eclipse. Even on its arrival, the great whale casts a shadow across the edifices of the town, anticipating the solar eclipse.
Hisham did a nice introduction to the film. I would add to it that the messy harmonies that Tarr seems to favor to fascism are joined by both an appreciation for human work (the intervals themselves are manmade, based on his fancy) and the recognition that the exultation of man's propensity for order should be limited to science, medicine, and of course music.
Only G-d can build the perfect harmony of the planets, with the regular procession of days and nights interrupted by the possibility of the solar eclipse, a crack into which evil human impulses pour.
Randal had trouble with this film, finding it too serious. I see it as mirthful in the first instance, stoic in the last, and finally quite modest. What do you think?
This film is inextricable from its use of time. The sustained shot upon the uncomprehending but curious face of János Valuska moves us past bathos, past pathos, to a blend of the two that sees in the face of actor Lars Rudolph evidence of a capricious and malevolent power that nevertheless exists.
Upon review, it seems inconsequential whether the violence originates in the mob of characters that stands on the event horizon of the discovery of the whale or in the Clean Town society - the idea of the dollfaced sexegenarian fascist, Auntie Tünde. The violence may come from a fascist distrust of technology and of science or it may come from the wish to cleanse the society (the rioters grab the patients from the hospital and beat them to death, seemingly intolerant of the filth of illness.)
What's clear on a second viewing is that the Whale is the eclipse - its eye has been replaced with a glassy portrait that sometimes looks like a human eye, always open and staring, but in the final shot is a picture of a solar eclipse. Even on its arrival, the great whale casts a shadow across the edifices of the town, anticipating the solar eclipse.
Hisham did a nice introduction to the film. I would add to it that the messy harmonies that Tarr seems to favor to fascism are joined by both an appreciation for human work (the intervals themselves are manmade, based on his fancy) and the recognition that the exultation of man's propensity for order should be limited to science, medicine, and of course music.
Only G-d can build the perfect harmony of the planets, with the regular procession of days and nights interrupted by the possibility of the solar eclipse, a crack into which evil human impulses pour.
Randal had trouble with this film, finding it too serious. I see it as mirthful in the first instance, stoic in the last, and finally quite modest. What do you think?