Rent Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)

If you love cinema you must see this film - Werckmeister Harmonies review by AL

I've read quite a few reviews of Werckmeister Harmonies and it appears that, unless you are Roger Ebert (https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/werckmeister-harmonies-2000), it's impossible to write about the film without sounding like a terrible pseud, so I'm not going to attempt to. I've listened to director Bela Tarr taking about the film and he isn't particularly elucidating about it either. It's not a film to be picked over and analysed, it's a film to be watched and enjoyed. It has a very particular rhythm and flow to it which is immersive, it reminded me of listening to the band Current 93 (oh God, I sound like a terrible pseud), you feel like once you've started you never want to stop. There's something that just keeps propelling the music forward and it's the same with the 'story' (such as it is, it doesn't really matter) in Werckmeister Harmonies, you just want to keep on watching. Tarr has caught something very special in the film, he working on an entirely different plane from most filmmakers, he's in touch with something beyond the everyday, the corporeal. I don't know what it is, I don't think Tarr really knows what it is, but there's something thrilling and mesmirising about it. At 2hrs 25mins, it's shorter than the latest John Wick film. What have you got to lose? Watch it. you won't regret it.

Tarr Baby - Werckmeister Harmonies review by Steve

More esoteric gloom from Béla Tarr and co-director Ágnes Hranitzky, which extended their unique visions across arthouses beyond Hungary. It's a bleak, bizarre tale sparked by the arrival in an austere town of a dismal circus whose sole attraction is a dead whale.

Tarr said this is not an allegory, though maybe he did not speak for Nobel laureate László Krasznahorkai who adapted his own novel. It's inconceivable that the rotting carcass which is starting to stink doesn't represent the manifest end-stage of the Soviet occupation.

Especially as the book was published in 1989! Critics claim the anarchy that follows is under the malign influence of the exhibit, but surely it is a prediction of what its decay allows... Still, this is a Béla Tarr film so we get the long tracking shots in b&w, the non-performances...

Plus the black comedy. Tarr said he merely reveals what he saw in his home country, which was surely bad news for Hungarian tourism; he always seems to be balancing the weight of misery! This is a dream of life which takes us to places only Béla knows.

Haunting - Werckmeister Harmonies review by griggs

Béla Tarr's Werckmeister Harmonies is a haunting exploration of societal chaos and human despair that feels disturbingly relevant in light of the current right-wing demonstrations and riots targeting ethnic minorities and asylum seekers in England.

The film, set in a bleak Hungarian town, depicts the unravelling of social order as fear and violence take hold, mirroring the divisive and inflammatory rhetoric prevalent today. The stark black-and-white cinematography and slow pacing create an atmosphere of oppressive inevitability, heightening the film's impact as it reflects the fragility of our societal structures.

Watching Werckmeister Harmonies now, against the backdrop of the riots, makes the film's depiction of mob mentality and xenophobia even more chilling. The protagonist, János Valuska, symbolizes a desperate attempt to restore harmony, resonating deeply as a poignant reminder of the consequences of division and hatred. Tarr's masterpiece not only challenges us to confront the darkness within our societies but also underscores the urgent need to seek out harmonies to save us from ourselves.