35mm and DCP List Autumn 2012 - Access Cinema

Beautifully photographed amongst the harsh light of the dry, desert landscapes, The
Source frequently feels like a musical and the women constantly burst into song as a
way of expressing their feelings and grievances. It would not be entirely surprising to see
the film translated into a Broadway show with the sweep of Seven Brides For Seven
Brothers or Fiddler On The Roof.
The sheer injustice at the heart of the story mean that the audience are automatically
sympathetic to the women even if the film feels slightly overlong. Performances
throughout are believable and touching with special mention to Biyouna whose wise,
feisty Mother Rifle is the heart and soul of the women and their cause. - Allan Hunter,
Screen International
Turin Horse, The A torinói ló
Dir: Béla Tarr Hungary 2011 146 mins Cert: CLUB
Starring: János Derzsi, Erika Bók, Mihály Kormos
Language: Hungarian
Available: From September
Formats: D-Cinema only
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEkP5PjUyU4
Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr’s fable-like The Turin Horse won a Silver Bear at the
2011 Berlin Film Festival. According to an introductory voiceover, it is inspired by
Friedrich Nietzsche stopping a Turin cab-driver from whipping his horse; having put an
end to the cruelty, the writer returned home to his mother and sisters and spent the next
ten years until his death in demented silence – whereas, we’re told, it’s not known what
happened to the quadruped in question.
Whether the stark apocalyptic tale that follows this brief prologue is intended as a
corrective to that uncertainty is unclear; the Berlin festival catalogue and some critics
seem to believe the man and horse we first see returning to a remote farm on the
Hungarian plains are those described by the narrator, though there’s no indication that
the comments about Nietzsche have any link to the main narrative save that they point
up the randomly chaotic, often bitterly cruel nature of existence.
The plot, such as it is, simply depicts six days in the life of the man – elderly, with one
useless arm and, perhaps, one blind eye – and the grown daughter with whom he
shares the cottage. They get up, get dressed, get water from the well, try to go to work –
though the horse, ailing and refusing to eat, and an ever more violent gale prevent their
doing so – eat (boiled potatoes only, using their fingers), stare out at the storm, and
sleep. One day, a man visits to borrow brandy and speaks of the desolate prospects
facing greedy, self-serving humanity; another day, a passing band of gypsies comes to
the well but is driven away by the irate cottage-owner, leaving a religious tome for his
daughter as recompense. That’s it, in terms of story – except that by the fifth day it feels
as if the wind will never drop and the wretched pair will never be able to leave their
home.
All this – which lasts two and half hours – is conveyed by around 30 long, elegant shots,
beautifully lit and composed in monochrome by frequent Tarr collaborator Fred Kelemen;
other regulars on board for what he has described as his last film include co-writer