A naive young man witnesses an escalation of violence in his small hometown following the arrival of a mysterious circus attraction.A naive young man witnesses an escalation of violence in his small hometown following the arrival of a mysterious circus attraction.A naive young man witnesses an escalation of violence in his small hometown following the arrival of a mysterious circus attraction.
- Awards
- 5 wins & 2 nominations
- Man In Western Boots
- (as Djoko Rossich)
- Porter
- (as dr. Horváth Putyi)
- Aunt Piri
- (as Almási Albert Éva)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film is composed of 39 languidly paced tracking shots.
- Quotes
János Valuska: You are the sun. The sun doesn't move, this is what it does. You are the Earth. The Earth is here for a start, and then the Earth moves around the sun. And now, we'll have an explanation that simple folks like us can also understand, about immortality. All I ask is that you step with me into the boundlessness, where constancy, quietude and peace, infinite emptiness reign. And just imagine, in this infinite sonorous silence, everywhere is an impenetrable darkness. Here, we only experience general motion, and at first, we don't notice the events that we are witnessing. The brilliant light of the sun always sheds its heat and light on that side of the Earth which is just then turned towards it. And we stand here in it's brilliance. This is the moon. The moon revolves around the Earth. What is happening? We suddenly see that the disc of the moon, the disc of the moon, on the Sun's flaming sphere, makes an indentation, and this indentation, the dark shadow, grows bigger... and bigger. And as it covers more and more, slowly only a narrow crescent of the sun remains, a dazzling crescent. And at the next moment, the next moment - say that it's around one in the afternoon - a most dramatic turn of event occurs. At that moment the air suddenly turns cold. Can you feel it? The sky darkens, then goes all dark. The dogs howl, rabbits hunch down, the deer run in panic, run, stampede in fright. And in this awful, incomprehensible dusk, even the birds... the birds too are confused and go to roost. And then... Complete Silence. Everything that lives is still. Are the hills going to march off? Will heaven fall upon us? Will the Earth open under us? We don't know. We don't know, for a total eclipse has come upon us... But... but no need to fear. It's not over. For across the sun's glowing sphere, slowly, the Moon swims away. And the sun once again bursts forth, and to the Earth slowly there comes again light, and warmth again floods the Earth. Deep emotion pierces everyone. They have escaped the weight of darkness
Mr. Hagelmayer: That's enough! Out of here, you tubs of beer!
János Valuska: But Mr. Hagelmayer. It's still not over.
- ConnectionsEdited into Gli ultimi giorni dell'umanità (2022)
- SoundtracksBook 1 - Prelude No. 8 in E-flat minor (BWV 853)
from The Well-Tempered Clavier
composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
The "grating" recording that György listens to in his study. He has retuned his piano to a pure tuning, with which the Bach prelude is incommensurable, since it relies on the tempered tuning system.
I summarize the beginning of this spectacular film because the magnificent Bela Tarr has laid out everything we need to know in these short 11 minutes to understand his work. We are told that the story is going to be an allegory; an allegory of great chaos brought upon a population of the ignorant (The eclipse frightening the animals natural order of life). We are told that most everything in the film will be symbolic (The earth, sun, and moon acting as natural life with disorder). We are given the weather conditions and the dereliction of the town which further sets the tone of the film. Finally, we are given the pace of the film. Patience is needed. A film captured in a mere 39 shots in what feels archaic black and white (Again acting as a symbol for the Post WWII desolate town and its intoxicated population).
The film follows our protagonist, Janos, as he meanders through his life playing an oxymoronic archetype of the wise fool. His small Hungarian town is awakened from their inexorable lassitude by the arrival of a circus attraction. This attraction is a giant stuffed whale and accompanying the whale is The Prince; a mysterious and shamanistic disturbance to the town's feeling of unrest and neglect. The Prince then capitalizes on the ignorance of the town, leading them to form a mob and storm the hospital. Janos is forced to play the unifier and bring the town out of the eclipse.
Tarr has created literature in motion with this masterpiece. Harmonies is more of an experience than anything else. I watched this film maybe 10 years ago and am just now writing this review. The film resonates and challenges our ability to interpret. It is almost like we as viewers would wish to have a SparkNotes page for this film, so we could understand the symbolic nature of the whale, the prince, and so much more. Yet, we are given no interpretations; just as I will leave you with no further explanations. Just a recommendation to find this film and let patience truly be the greatest virtue of them all.
- afox9119
- Oct 15, 2018
- How long is Werckmeister Harmonies?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Гармонії Веркмейстера
- Filming locations
- Baja, Hungary(square)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- FRF 10,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $69,923
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,852
- Oct 7, 2001
- Gross worldwide
- $69,923
- Runtime2 hours 25 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1