When the Belcourt announced it was going to show Sátántangó, I was immediately excited. Directed by Béla Tarr — the Hungarian master of slow cinema — the film has become a white whale for many cinephiles for one big reason: the gargantuan runtime. Over the course of seven-plus hours, this poor village will be visited by a man they once thought dead as he tries to manipulate the townsfolk. It’s a bleak tale that unfolds with creeping devastation, all captured in stark black-and-white cinematography. The film also boasts merely 150 individual shots in total, according to Tarr, all long takes seemingly without end. This is slow cinema at its most challenging. But despite the severe time investment, dire atmosphere and lingering camera, Sátántangó has become one of the most critically acclaimed films of all time. What Tarr crafted here is nothing short of spectacular, and to be completely honest, when were you going to watch a seven-hour behemoth like this in your home? When else can you brag to your friends that you got to see this Hungarian arthouse classic in a theater? Sátántangó is showing Sunday at the Belcourt as part of the Milestones of the Last Quarter Century and Weekend Classics series.
Noon at the Belcourt
2102 Belcourt Ave.
