Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by tinear (A) on February 21, 2012 at 08:36:05

"The Turin Horse" is Tarr's self-admitted last film and, for his loyal fans, the ultimate one; like many great artists, Tarr has simplified his art as the years have gone by (he averages about a film every 7 years, now).
In this case, the story takes place largely within a simple farmer's hut upon a desolate plain. An old man, looking like Eisenstein's Peter the Great, though far scruffier, ekes out his existence with the aid of his daughter and an old horse. As the film begins, he is returning with his daughter when a storm hits. For the next six days, they are trapped in their cabin, venturing out only to feed the horse and draw water from the well.
Okay, now, to the plot.
That was it.
For six days, we see the daughter help her father dress for the day (he has one lame arm), drink his morning draught of brandy, and eat a boiled potato meal. Very little is spoken between them. Only two interludes serve to soften this: a visit from a neighbor to buy some rum; a band of gypsies to steal water.
As the days pass, and the storm continues, their situation worsens as their few necessities are threatened.
The cinematography is compelling, the music hypnotic. Tarr "fans" will recognize the man from earlier films, as well as the girl. He played (if anyone can be said to "play" in a Tarr film...) the murderer in "The Man from London." Erika Bok, the daughter, was the young girl in "Satantango" and the daughter in "TMfL."
It is very, very difficult not to take Tarr at his word: this film appears to leave nothing for him to say within his world.