Does anyone know this woman?
Katalin Varga
Directed by Peter Strickland
84 mins
* * * * *
A remarkable first feature by a young British writer/producer/director. Set in Romania with a Romanian cast this is part folk tale, part mystery, and part horror film but it brilliantly transcends all of these. As the film opens we see Katalin Varga (played by Hilda Peter) being confronted by her husband after he discovers he is not the father of their ten-year-old son Orban. He banishes them from their remote village and they embark on a journey on a horse-drawn wagon across the desolate countryside like refugees. She tells Orban her mother is ill and needs her, but he becomes more and more suspicious. They meet various people on the way but do they know Katalin? What are their connections with her? Bedding down in various outhouses on quiet remote farms it feels like the Middle Ages until she hauls out a cell phone. Peter’s face is astonishing – her neck muscles tense, her large eyes unblinking, staring terrified into the black forest where she sees images of Orban. The significance of the undergrowth becomes apparent much later on.
She meets a man in a bar. They may know each other. She may be egging him on. They go back to the barn; they make love in the dark. Things do not work out as he expected. All the people she meets on the journey are suspicious of her. One farmer appears to her wearing just a neck brace and tiny underpants. It looks both funny and unnerving as he asks her about her bar visit. Two men appear to be following her. They’re calling at remote houses knocking on doors in the middle of the night claiming they are the police, asking if Katalin has been seen. They always seem two steps behind as she takes off quickly. In a field, some men are working. Katalin seems to know one of them, starts talking and he offers to give them shelter. The next day, in a boat on a lake, her awful secret is unveiled in an unbroken monologue to her new friends resulting in tragic consequences. Orban then discovers his father is not who he thought and runs into the forest in anger. Katalin runs after him, her dread of the forest still in her eyes. She gets caught by the two policemen who are not the police at all. Things look grim.
This is a sombre, psychologically intricate narrative, drawing on influences like mid-1970s Werner Herzog, Tarkovsky around the time of ‘Mirror’ and ‘Nostalgia’ and in particular the Hungarian Bela Tarr with a dark electronic score reminiscent of ‘Eraserhead’ or Popol Vuh’s music in ‘Nosferatu.’ It’s particularly effective when the score takes over from the ambient noises and smothers the film in an ominous shroud. The almost static silent countryside peppered with occasional birdsong is contrasted with her mysterious journey into a hell of her own making and she becomes as morally compromised as anyone else she meets. A great surprise at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, this won a Silver Bear. Strickland had no support from the UK Film Commission, it was all financed by him alone and it cost just €30,000 to make. An amazing achievement.
Lloyd Sellus
Directed by Peter Strickland
84 mins
* * * * *
A remarkable first feature by a young British writer/producer/director. Set in Romania with a Romanian cast this is part folk tale, part mystery, and part horror film but it brilliantly transcends all of these. As the film opens we see Katalin Varga (played by Hilda Peter) being confronted by her husband after he discovers he is not the father of their ten-year-old son Orban. He banishes them from their remote village and they embark on a journey on a horse-drawn wagon across the desolate countryside like refugees. She tells Orban her mother is ill and needs her, but he becomes more and more suspicious. They meet various people on the way but do they know Katalin? What are their connections with her? Bedding down in various outhouses on quiet remote farms it feels like the Middle Ages until she hauls out a cell phone. Peter’s face is astonishing – her neck muscles tense, her large eyes unblinking, staring terrified into the black forest where she sees images of Orban. The significance of the undergrowth becomes apparent much later on.
She meets a man in a bar. They may know each other. She may be egging him on. They go back to the barn; they make love in the dark. Things do not work out as he expected. All the people she meets on the journey are suspicious of her. One farmer appears to her wearing just a neck brace and tiny underpants. It looks both funny and unnerving as he asks her about her bar visit. Two men appear to be following her. They’re calling at remote houses knocking on doors in the middle of the night claiming they are the police, asking if Katalin has been seen. They always seem two steps behind as she takes off quickly. In a field, some men are working. Katalin seems to know one of them, starts talking and he offers to give them shelter. The next day, in a boat on a lake, her awful secret is unveiled in an unbroken monologue to her new friends resulting in tragic consequences. Orban then discovers his father is not who he thought and runs into the forest in anger. Katalin runs after him, her dread of the forest still in her eyes. She gets caught by the two policemen who are not the police at all. Things look grim.
This is a sombre, psychologically intricate narrative, drawing on influences like mid-1970s Werner Herzog, Tarkovsky around the time of ‘Mirror’ and ‘Nostalgia’ and in particular the Hungarian Bela Tarr with a dark electronic score reminiscent of ‘Eraserhead’ or Popol Vuh’s music in ‘Nosferatu.’ It’s particularly effective when the score takes over from the ambient noises and smothers the film in an ominous shroud. The almost static silent countryside peppered with occasional birdsong is contrasted with her mysterious journey into a hell of her own making and she becomes as morally compromised as anyone else she meets. A great surprise at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, this won a Silver Bear. Strickland had no support from the UK Film Commission, it was all financed by him alone and it cost just €30,000 to make. An amazing achievement.
Lloyd Sellus
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2 comments:
Lloyd? Lloyd? Who's Lloyd??!!!
I'm Lloyd and I'm from London. I masquerade as 'The London Correspondent' and I recommend this film and any others I've reviewed. Unless of course I haven't recommended them in which case....etc etc. L & P will explain.
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