Sátántangó
For me, it’s a no-brainer to commit 7½ hours to see one of the greatest films of the 1990s, Béla Tarr’s Sátántangó (1994). But Cinematheque’s opening weekend is so strong, I’m already feeling like a wimp for not trying for more in one weekend.
Programmers anticipated a strong demand for the new feature-length dance film, Cunningham in 3-D, so they scheduled two screenings, on Jan. 30 and 31. This acclaimed portrait of legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham, featuring 3-D stagings of his work, will draw crowds. But I’ll probably miss Cunningham to rest up for Sátántangó.
Like many Cinematheque films, Sátántangó is a recent restoration touring the country. Unlike many restoration screenings, you’re going to have to figure out your meals that day ahead of time.
Starting at 1 p.m. on Feb. 1, the 7½-hour running time will be broken up by one short intermission and a 90-minute dinner break starting at 5:30 p.m. Avoid a heavy lunch, because you’ll need steady eyes for a deliberately paced, mesmerizing masterpiece.
Adapted from a novel by László Krasznahorkai, Sátántangó follows the trials and tribulations of a small Hungarian village after the fall of communism. Tarr fine-tuned his signature style of extreme long takes and vivid black and white cinematography in this period, famously opening Sátántangó with an eight-minute shot of cows wandering through the village. Cinematheque screened Sátántangó in 2006, but who knows if or when this will play again on a big screen in Madison.
(from left) Cunningham, and Varda by Agnès.
The Spring 2020 schedule also includes documentaries that inspire reflection on lives well lived. Varda by Agnès (Feb. 7) is the final film from Agnès Varda, who made vibrant cinema (including Faces Places) right up until the end. In 63 Up (Feb. 21 and 22), British director Michael Apted delivers more interviews with subjects he has been following since they were 7 years old.
Cinematheque continues its commitment to genre cinema, arguing auteur status for S. Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk, Dragged Across Concrete), and looking back at a dark comedy from Parasite director Bong Joon-Ho, Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000). Add the UCLA Festival of Preservation and art cinema retrospectives of Chantal Akerman and Federico Fellini, and audiences are in for another amazing semester of programming.
