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Sátántangó: Part One 15 rating

Part One of Béla Tarr’s epic adaptation of Laszlo Karsnahorkai’s novel about the disintegration of an isolated community.

Drama 1994 262 mins

Director: Béla Tarr

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Overview

Set in 1980s Hungary, Béla Tarr’s epic masterpiece Satantango portrays the disintegration of a struggling agricultural community as seen from the perspectives of unfaithful lovers, scheming neighbours, an alcoholic doctor and a lonely, neglected child. When the promise of escape to a new life is offered, the squabbling group confront their suspicions, hopes and regrets.

A self-confessed outlier in the film world, Tarr initially attempted to make the film in the mid-80s, but had to wait several years when his film studio was closed by the then-Communist Hungarian government. It is a spellbinding, visionary marathon of a movie, and one that Susan Sontag described as “enthralling for every minute of its seven hours.” Ranked joint 78th in the 2022 Sight and Sound Great Films of All Time poll.

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