Day 340
Tuesday 5 June, 2018
‘666 Doing the Tango’ 2018
Sátántangó – Parts 1 – 5
A Béla Tarr Film
I watched the first five-parts today of Sátántangó, during the early hours of the morning, totaling three hours and thirty-three minutes – approximately.
So far it is a film with the bare bones of a story. I’m not bored and I’m interested to know where it could go. If someone wants to take seven hours to tell a story then I’m very happy to sit for five hours while it sets everything up. Somewhere at that point I’ll be questioning whether I’m watching grass grow or paint dry and wondering when the point of it all will start to reveal itself. I’m nowhere near that point yet.
It has only a little dialogue, dwelling on the way things appear – or appear to be.
Narrator: “In the east the sky clears fast like a memory. At dawn, it leans all red on the wavering horizon. As the morning beggar trudges up the backsteps to the church, the sun rises to give life to the shadow, and to separate earth and sky, man and animal from the disturbing, confused unity in which they become inextricably intertwined. He saw the fleeing night on the other side, its terrifying elements in turn diving on the western horizon, like a desperate, defeated, confused army.”
In the section, Valamit tudni (KNOW SOMETHING), the doctor across from Mrs Kraner’s house has been observing through his binoculars and writing:
“Futaki, it seems, is afraid of something. Early morning started… he was looking out the window. Futaki is terrified. He’s afraid of death. They’ll kick off anyway. You too, Futaki, you’ll kick off. Schmidt comes out through the back door and stands on top of the path to the sodic meadow. Futaki carefully slips out of the house… cross to the stables and hides by the wall. F doesn’t move. He waits for a moment… then he too dashes to the door, knocks, and comes quickly after Schmidt. What a hustle. It has started to rain… it won’t stop till spring.”
I’m only half way through and it has a very slow reveal, so I’ve not go much to observe at this point.
