#slow film
Twilight (1990)
Directed by Gyorgy Feher
Doomsy’s Rating: 89/100
A creeping, monochromatic haze of gargantuan proportions. Taking cues from his fellow Hungarian depressive Bela Tarr, Gyorgy Feher subscribes to a similarly downbeat view of the human condition. This story, concerning a haunted detective’s search for a missing little girl in a remote village where violence and corruption pervade, would in Hollywood be a pulpy noir. To my delight, Feher removes every standardized storytelling practice form the equation and opts for an oppressive, doomy opera of nihilism and anhedonia. The torturous, unforgiving camera work that he utilizes evinces endless unease; almost every single shot in the ninety-minute runtime is dripping with shadows and fog, and most of the close-ups of faces are shown in chiaroscuro. There is no hiding from fate and, just as poignantly, no escaping from the darkness endemic in the hearts of men. Not a film to watch if you like happy pr fast-moving things. Twilight is as cold, bewitching and hypnotic as European art cinema gets, and is bordering on masterpiece status. Need to see more of this director’s work soon.
Post link
A Visitor to a Museum (1989)
Directed by Konstantin Lopushanksiy
Doomsy’s Rating: 86/100
A gargantuan and enigmatic Russian sci-fi drone film, Visitor to a Museum is a nightmare of catastrophe and a fever dream of things to come. Lopushanskiy, the brilliant filmmaker behind such other dread-heavy mood tomes such as Dead Men’s Letters andRussian Symphony, creates a brooding and often-times oppressive atmosphere that suffocates the viewer whilst simultaneously hypnotizing them. A simple story of a post-cataclysmic society where the deformed are locked up like animals and intellectuals keep the world stagnated, we follow our lonely protagonist through scorched landscapes, decayed buildings, and tortured, monolithic mountains on the way to discovering the truth of the world before. Stark, unforgiving, and extraordinary, this is a terrifying cautionary tale about humankind’s fragile existence. Not for everyone, but sure as hell for the cynic inside me.
Post link
