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Scientists have discovered a huge and invisible force in the universe that makes the matter in the universe move in the same direction at extremely high speeds. This phenomenon is called "undercurrent".
Bella Tara's "Satan Tango" (1993) is a classic work that explores how the undercurrents between human natures. To be honest, after watching this film in 2007, it took ten days off and on. The length of seven and a half hours is one aspect, and the long gaze of its long lens is another aspect. What's amazing is that there is often one long shot for one scene. This kind of composure and intensity is really rare. Long shots of more than ten minutes abound everywhere, and leave enough space. Indeed, this unknowingly will give people room for thinking.
In the past few years, I have watched it again every year, and it usually takes three nights. The butt has to be hard enough. Patience movies, you must be patient. Admittedly, the long shot of Bella Tal's movie is a bit dull, but it is very interesting to think about it together, as if there is a kind of magic to slowly pull you back to the sofa, and finish watching it quietly. Most people think that if there are too many long shots, the story will be weakened, and the plot will not be coherent. On the contrary, whether it is "Satan Tango" or "Scourge" in 1988, the plot is extremely tempting. It's just that Bella Tal is good at making characters more real and isolated in the interpretation of the black and white world. Rather than saying that this giant system is an epic, it is better to say that it is a long and long "film novel", perhaps more appropriate. In a nutshell: "Satan Tango"-today, the most extensive and most delicate film explaining the density of human spirit.
"Satan Tango" is adapted from a novel by Krasna Hokai. As early as many years before shooting, Bella Tara has been quietly sharpening the film. Of course, it is not easy to get the ground up and shoot smoothly. This involves not only financial issues, but also political issues. Hungary is still in the Soviet camp. The completion of this huge system in 1993 can also be said to be just the right time. At this moment, what reminds me is still the music that accompanies the picture. Bella Tal once said, "The movies I direct are all Vig's music." He said that Vig is not only a musician, but also a poet and artist. After Vig got the script, he studied it carefully, and then composed music according to the plot. Therefore, we were fortunate enough to see and hear the old accordionist playing danglingly while being pushed around in circles. This was all recorded live.
This movie has two different styles of music. One is accompanied by the brisk and wild tango dance steps in the bar, which makes them forget the despair and indulge in the anesthesia of brandy; the other is the leisurely, sad and bitter background music accompanying the shadow, which can chew their lives Definitely means. It's unspeakable, and it makes the heart tremble. Until the dying old doctor nailed wooden boards to the windows, the room was completely dark, but his records were still struggling to tell "the nearest church, eight kilometers southwest, in the ancient Hokmeis, a lonely little The church, there is no bell. During the war, the church has collapsed...". This coincided with his voice-over at the beginning of the film, "On the last morning in October, it was the first unbearable autumn rain, which landed on the dry and cracked earth. In the smelly swamp in the west of the farm, the road was flooded, It was impassable until the first frost, which cut off the entire town from the world, and Futaki was awakened by a bell...".
Satan is a demon.
Of course, not everyone in the film is like this. There are always a few bad guys, but there are always a lot of calculating people. The collapse of the collective farm in deep trouble has become a reality. People's panic is spreading. The wage dispute is just the lead, and the human wickedness is the key point. Mutual trust and betrayal are bound to be difficult to join hands. Undercurrents are surging, and they are always fighting between sexual desire, lust and wine desire. The collective farm itself is a symbol of a broken system.
For the need of parallel narrative, the film is divided into 12 chapters: opening, we will come back to life, clues, unbound of spider work, nipples of the devil of spider work, the satanic tango, eremias speech, prospect, heaven? nightmare? , Future expectations, work and troubles, closed circles.
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Opening: The lame man Futaki, at his lover's house, has been staring out of the window worriedly. The autumn rain outside the window. Afterwards, the lover's husband Smitay came back and told them that they would leave together tonight, and Phtaki asked for a share of the money, which was his hard-earned money for a year on the farm. Futaki took the money and put it on his chest. Krenner's wife hurriedly knocked on the door and told them, "Irimias and Pechina are back. We don't need the money." They didn't believe it, Smitay said they were dead early. Futaki said, "You can't escape their palms. In the end, we will all go crazy." It seems that they are very afraid of these two uninvited guests. We will come back to life: say Cao Cao, Cao Cao will be there. Eremias and Pechina are at the police station, confessing their whereabouts to the captain, because they are still on parole. Captains have monitoring responsibilities and need to keep track of their movements. The captain sent a philosophical emotion to them. When provoking them to walk in the muddy wilderness, Eremias also said that "the twigs in the rain cannot protect themselves." On the way, there was a young man Hogars who greeted them. He introduced the current situation of the farm, especially Smitai and Ftaki. It seems that this is a pair of ruthless characters. It is destined that their arrival will set off a violent storm on this remote farm.
I have a clue: The drooping and bloated old doctor has nothing to do, so he monitors the people coming in and out of the Smitay family across the window every day, like a spy, everything is recorded, regardless of size. The affair between Futaki and Smitay's wife is not necessarily clear to him, at least he can record the number of times where Fukita came. After being sick for a long time, he fell to the ground together. Fortunately, he was able to wake up. Fortunately, he was still a doctor and was able to inject himself with injections and save his life. Brandy is his life. He went out with a hip flask. Passing by a secluded warehouse, two prostitutes hoped that he would take care of them as before, but he only asked them for two cigarettes. The prostitutes sighed and said what to do with their lives in the future. The old man continued on the road. After finally getting to the bar, a little girl, Istek, came out to grab his hip flask. In the fight, the little girl ran away. He yelled for her not to be afraid of running away. While chasing, he fell down in the forest and was rescued later.
Spider's work is not bound: The little girl Istek is not only scolded by her mother, but her money is cheated away by the boy. She had nowhere to avenge her, and with silent tears, she had to breathe out the poor cat. She pinched the cat to death and took mouse poison. She ran to the bar and looked in from the window. The adults inside were dancing tango. She kept watching. Then the old doctor came and she went to grab it. As a result, she ran outside the abandoned church, drank the milk with rat poison, and went with the dead cat in her arms.
The nipples of the demon of spider work, Satan Tango: At the bar, there was only an old man who was sleeping at first, and then Harrisis with glasses came, and he wanted to ask for a glass of brandy. The boss refused to say that you would bring the money. Then the money came, and Smitay divided the money for everyone. But the arrival of an old man made them uneasy. He kept chattering, "Iremias and Pechina, I see, they will be here tomorrow morning". He talked endlessly, and the others drank endlessly. When the wine was hot, the old man pulled up the accordion and they danced tango. The chattering old man pushed the dancer nervously, and plausibly "Father is the sea, and mother is the heaven and earth. It's over...Fuck, what's wrong with the sea and heaven and earth". The most decadent is of course the trembling big breasts of Stemi's wife, which is a symbol of the paleness and madness of life. And the fear of the barkeeper and Futaki's anxiety merged together, like a spider web woven between an empty wine bottle and an empty glass, omnipresent and ubiquitous.
Eremias' speech: Eremias, who made everyone terrified, has finally arrived. He hummed and frustrated. Facing the dead little girl Istek, I gave a speech to everyone emotionally, "This tragic incident led to the death of an innocent child. She was blown away by the wind... I hope to rebuild your confidence. I am here. Build a small island, a model farm, and unite all desperate people, as long as you trust me..." The 12-minute magic speech naturally made the enchanted people excited. It also made Futuji the first to stand up and give him all the money, and they all gave it later. They will all follow him to build a better future.
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Prospects: Eremias agreed with them to see you at the Arams Building at six tomorrow morning. They all went away happily, causing the bar owner to yell and let them get away. If people go to the market, he will have no business to do. The limp Futaki came out of the ruined house carrying the box and the quilt. From a distance, he saw them smashing the table together, saying that they were not allowed to leave it to the gypsies. Then, they went on the road together. This is destined to be a faltering journey. The clouds were rolling and the cold wind was blowing, and they warmed themselves with wine. The heavy rain poured down mercilessly. They walked under the rain. The night was like lacquer, and they finally arrived at the Arams Building. Everything is empty. They rest. The Krenners are a little worried about money being cheated. They can only pray in their dreams that Eremias will appear at six tomorrow morning. And an owl squatting on the window has been watching their dreams silently.
Heaven? nightmare? : Irimias, with a bulging chest, told them with full confidence, "Trust gives me courage and responsibility, let us create prosperity together, friends, see you at 6 tomorrow morning." Everyone left. He took Pechina and Hoggs to leave and drove into town. The dark clouds drooped, and the three of them formed a line. Hoggs said that he was so scared that he peeed his pants for fear that they would suddenly want to get the money back. They discussed how to get rid of these fools. Eremias explained that he would take the first train to leave. When passing by the church, Eremias also knelt down and prayed, which made his colleagues quite strange. When they came to the town, a group of galloping horses ran out of the square. Eremias said it was a horse that ran out of the slaughterhouse. When they came to the restaurant, in addition to dining, they also borrowed a car from the owner Stegerwald, saying that they would use it tomorrow. Eremias asked Pechina to write to the captain, which involved the success of their plan. He also asked Hoggs to call in the funder, an old man named Pryor, and Iremyas said he was asked to get explosives. After a day of racking his brains, I finally rested, and Eremias was sleeping peacefully in his dreams.
Future expectations: In the early morning of the next day, Futaki and the group quarreled into a pot of porridge. Krenner concluded that Eremias would not come, but Eremias appeared like a ghost. He gave Krenner money and said that because of you, I had to postpone the farm plan. After Smitay's stupid question, it seemed to give everyone a reassurance. So Krenner gave him the money again, and his wife apologized vigorously, hoping that he would continue to lead them forward. Of course Eremias would pretend to accept it. Then let them get in the car. The vague rain hit the truck rushing, as if they were destined to not escape the clutches of Satan.
Car to town. Eremias then divided them into two groups. One group is Harris, Krenner and Smitay. One group is the old principal and Futaki. He arranged work for them separately. Giving Smitay was a butcher’s job, Harrisis went to the Polish priest’s place to clean the church and cook, while Krenner arranged to the dry cleaning room, provided that they were to find a contact person. Eremias came out again and told the old principal that he would pick you up in an hour. Before turning around, Fukitta said that you don't need to worry, I will find a job as a doorman. But Irimias said you go to Stegerwald restaurant at 8pm, let's talk about it. Fukitta left without speaking, carrying his luggage. Presumably they are all at ease. It is the three people who feel more at ease. For them, heaven is next, and for Futaki and the others, nightmares are waiting for them.
Work and trouble: panoramic record, real and cold. A pair of police officers hit the letter presented to the captain by Irimias to find a qualitative "way out" for the people on the farm, which is equivalent to that Irimias has transferred all the so-called "responsibility" to the police, and they have all been transferred to the police. As a suspect. The young police officer, sitting in front of the typewriter, read the letter while typing. Whenever he talked about a person, the old police officer would lick melon seeds while looking for more precise words to label them. This kind of boring work is in contrast with the scene of everyone in the Futaki group in the torrential rain yearning for a better life, which produces a great contrast between reality. First female then male. Define Smidai's wife as a "prostitute". Smited as a dull person, the so-called "hopeless stupidity, vague moaning, desperate existence, obedience to authority". The old principal said he was already a crazy person, so let him jump off the bridge. Krenner is a demented guy. The only thing that looks different is that Futaki is "dangerous, disabled, but available." Defining all people, the extremely ugly ability, often rises to the contemptible philosophical height. So far, life is like a grasshopper, without dignity at all. The only ones who are at ease are Iremias, who are away. Satan finally hit the road.
The circle is closed: the end falls on the old doctor again. It is not so much that he was abandoned in an old house, it is better to say that he is happy to disappear here. He first came to a remote church and saw a mad man hoarse and ringing the broken bell. He returned to the house, talking to himself, and continued to record his diary. He nailed boards to all windows. Maybe he is more adapted to the dark world. He will die with the darkness. He narrated the last record: "On the last morning of October, that was the first unbearable autumn rain, which landed on the dry and cracked earth... a lonely little church, there was no bell...". This makes the film's front and back echoes have the best clear indication.
There are many unforgettable labeling scenes in the film, among which the endless continuous autumn rain and the expressions of people of all colors walking on the swamp road are very impressive. Bella Tal once said, "Walking is the process from here to there, which is the logic of life. We have to go forward, otherwise, we have to go back." We have witnessed too many backs in his movies. The violent storms, the trash and the muddy wilderness that walk with you, constitute the reality of the decline of the world in the movie.
Everyone is alone. Their hope is the same as brandy, and it will always be drunk. Everyone is also desperate, and their souls are crowded and narrowed in the real circle, so that they can't rest in peace. Although they are the sons of man, but Satan is always with him like a shadow, and they are destined to be irredeemable. Undercurrents surging, everything will eventually pass away. Waiting for them, or there is only a long road like a whip, muddy and bitter.
2013, 12, 4
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