It is also my first Béla Tarr film. Tarr is a famous international director, and arguably the best that Hungary has ever produced. So it had that going for it. I was also aware that this film is slow ans artistic, so I was prepared.
The opening scene is strange, an interesting play in a bar where the audio seems to be greatly out of sync. I was sure this was a dubbed portion until I got further into the film, I'm still unsure what that was about. The music is fantastic, and the scene was artistic and beautiful [not something you hear me saying much in reviews]. I just loved when he left the bar and walked down the dark road. The plot is very basic but I feel that my conclusion about the film may be different than others [see the comments for the spoiler on this if you want]. The plot is that a whale exhibit is in town and the townspeople are in an uproar over the self titled "prince" who has been making speeches at the exhibit. The crowd turns to mob later in the film and it eventually picks up its pace. It is very slow at times, which fits the theme and my final conclusion.
Overall I really liked it, I didn't love it, and I really don't see myself watching it again. That is what keeps it from being an 8/10. So what is the title? Well the main character's uncle is a music theorist who believes that Andreas Werckmeister (who invented the music scale with 8 notes) was wrong and basically messed up how we listen to music. The lecture is part of the film, and difficult to follow, but interesting.
Anyways, look at the comments for spoilers.
Vote: 7/10
IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249241/
Spoilers:
Trả lờiXóaI believe that when the townspeople turn into a mob, this is when we switch from reality to the main character losing it. The film ends with him in a hospital, which I believe to be a mental ward. Maybe this is the ending and obvious to others, but I found the film to be really good and the surprise ending of him being nuts was really cool. Was he nuts because he couldn't handle his townspeople turning into a mob and the horrible things he saw? Or is he nuts from the start and we as views are fooled the whole time [what I think]?
The more I reflect on this film the more I like it.