Cinema
Damnation
Kárhozat
Béla Tarr · 1988
Synopsis
A mining town under a rain that never stops, where coal buckets pass along their cables. Karrer, out of work, wanders the streets and spends his evenings at the Titanik, the bar where a married woman sings, whose lover he had been; she has broken it off, for she dreams of fame. Willarsky, the man who runs the bar, offers him a smuggling run. Karrer has the job given to the singer's husband, Sebestyén, which will keep him away for a few days.
Context
The film opens Tarr's collaboration with Krasznahorkai, co-author of the screenplay, and brings together the team that would accompany him afterwards: the composer Mihály Víg, the cinematographer Gábor Medvigy, the set designer Gyula Pauer and Ágnes Hranitzky as editor. After the colours of his previous film, he returns to black and white, with very long takes and devastated landscapes, where atmosphere counts for more than plot. It is the film through which his manner was noticed outside Hungary; it has been restored in 4K under his supervision.
Who it is for
Two hours of rain and very long shots, for those willing to wait; released in France on DVD by Clavis, then re-released in cinemas by Carlotta.
Prizes and reception
Presented at the Berlin festival in February 1988, and rereleased in French cinemas on 6 April 2022 in a restored print.
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