Werckmeister Harmonies

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SRC="http://adserver.gorillanation.com/?SIT=Reelmoviecritic.com+Pop"></A> </NOSCRIPT>  </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 ><NOBR><div> <B>Werckmeister Harmonies   </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Wingdings 2" ><B>êêêê</B></FONT><B>   stars   No MPAA rating</B></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div> Reviewed by Shelley Cameron</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="588" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="588"><div> The Wreck Meister</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="593" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Lars Rudolph as Janos Valushka</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><div> Peter Fitz as György Eszter</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Hanna Schygulla as Tünde Eszter</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="293"><div> Director: Bela Tarr</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Extraordinary work by Hungarian director Bela Tarr examines the political and social landscape in post-communist Eastern Europe.  Tells a brooding allegorical tale chronicling the decay of a town and its inhabitants by means of a strange circus that comes to the village.  The spectacle is actually only one huge truck that casts an even larger foreboding shadow as it creeps into town in the still of the night.  Witnessed by Janos Valushka (Lars Rudolph) as he makes his way home in the dark after leaving the pub, he is fascinated and anxious.  In the morning the show is selling tickets to see the giant whale and "The Prince" inside.  What transpires in the town and is both riveting, strangely stagnant and totally absorbing.</div> <bR> <div> The opening scene takes place in the pub where men gather and drink somberly.  They are guided by Janos as he places them into a human model of the solar system to illustrate the dynamics of an eclipse of the sun.  His direction of the pub patrons foretells his role as the "holy fool" who witnesses all and is unafraid to participate.  Tarr's visual style is heavy on very, very, long slow takes that mesmerizes rather than bores us.  There is a marvelous economy of dialog that lets us know what is happening in the deceptively simple plot but draws us in totally. </div> <bR> <div> The effect is terrifying, awesome, haunting.  The grim gathering of menacing citizens talk of rumors about chaos and destruction in other towns, but elusively and mysteriously.  Janos, the local postman, visits his cherished uncle and teacher who talks to him of the fatally flawed theories of 17<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> century musician Werckmeister who tried to impose a order on the musical scale.  Uncle Eszter (Peter Fitz) is emphatic that false order does not work in the world.</div> <bR> <div> Estranged from her husband, his Aunt Eszter (Hanna Schygulla) threatens Janos and enlists his aid in spying on Uncle.  She is revealed to be working a bargain with the local police chief to her exhilaration and gain during the coming havoc in the village.  In the most haunting and wretched scene on film, we see an angry, but peculiarly stoic mob enter and brutally attack the patients in the hospital. </div> <bR> <div> The giant dead whale that dominates the town square seems a metaphor for the grim and volatile presence gathering in the village.  Shot in superb black and white and edited by longtime companion and partner, Agnes Hranitzky, this most satisfying film should be seen by those who crave superior filmmaking.  </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="588"><div> Shelley Cameron <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Symbol" >Ó</FONT> 2001</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="588"><div> <A HREF="mailto:shlcameron@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:shlcameron@aol.com"><U><U>Shelley@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>