Sátántangó [Blu-ray]

Not everyone’s taste but I love this movie.

KS and others need to do their research. No cats or other animals were harmed during the production of Satantango. It’s a film. Do you think the shark actually bit Robert Shaw in half in Jaws? Or that de Niro died and was reconstructed from other body parts and brought back to life for Frankenstein (actually, maybe he was!). Tarr is a master of artifice. Watch the scene where Irimias and Petrona walk through the streets in gale force winds. Loads of trash and objects being blown around at ground level, but look at the tops of the trees. Completely still. The film is a masterpiece and the 4k restoration is sublime

One person has written a review claiming that a cat is actually killed on screen in this film. It is very important to clarify that the cat was not harmed. The cat was tossed about a bit by the child, and sound effects were added to make it sound as if the cat is in distress. It was then given a tranquilliser by a vet to make it fall asleep, to mimic it being poisoned. The cat was later adopted by Tarr. The dead cat that the child carries under her arm is a prop (there are companies that make dead animal props for films. As films take a rather long time to make, it probably wouldn't be the best idea to have a child carrying around a rotting cat, even forgetting the continuity issues this would cause). It is still distressing seeing the cat clearly not having a very nice time being tossed about by the child, but a vet was on standby at all times and the cat went on to live a happy life. Please don't be taken in by the misinformation, and enjoy this masterpiece guilt free. It was one of the greatest films ever made and it's a shame to be besmirched by this silly urban legend. Last, here is a quote from Tarr: > “Are you crazy? I had two cats at home. Can you believe that I would kill a cat?! Never! First of all, we knew the cat scene [was coming] and we knew that the cat would have to rehearse with the girl. Every day in the hotel room they would do this kind of ‘turning’ game. By the end, the cat was used to this and did not care. We knew that the cat has to die, so I called my vet, who was looking after my cat at home, and he came to the location. I told him, ‘You have to give her a sleeping injection. We will push the button on the camera when you give us a sign that the cat is getting dizzy’. We shot on his signal and the cat fell asleep. The whole crew stood around waiting for 25 minutes until she started to wake up. It was totally okay. The cat did not have any trouble, believe me. All the cat noises you hear are samples that we found from the sound archive on the internet, because the cat was totally silent.” And here is a quote from the BBFC: > "Sátántangó was only classified uncut after we received detailed assurances from the film-makers regarding how the scenes with the cat were prepared and filmed in such a way as to avoid cruelty to the animal involved. Those assurances were consistent with the onscreen evidence."

It’s not going to be for everyone, but this is an absolutely stunning masterpiece. The runtime is daunting, yes, but it tells a story that takes 7.5 hours to tell. For home viewing I would recommend setting aside a day to watch it. My first viewing on DVD took me about 10 hours with cigarette and food breaks. If you’re curious, if you’ve heard people raving about it, if you want to know if what everyone says is true - yes. This film really is that good.

This is clearly a masterpiece. So why did I only watch half of it and give it 2 stars. Simple, it had trouble with the English censor because of its depiction of cruelty to animals, in particular one cat that is shown being violently abused and then poisoned by a child. It was claimed that the cat was not harmed and that a vet was on hand. Sorry, film doesn't lie, well not this one: the cat is clearly abused and ultimately killed by the child - bad for the cat, but also for the child actor. Perhaps being a vegetarian makes me too sensitive to such acts - and, of course, it's set in the context of a trapped and tortured humanity. But just as I don't see the need for actresses to be exploited in sex scenes, I don't see the need for animals to be exploited in this way. The film is seen as being close to Tarkovsky, but it lacks his subtlety. To make a film in this way, a kind of cat snuff movie, shows a lack of humanity (sure, that's what it is showing: that's what the film's about, but it shows a corruption in the soul of the film makers - the crew and all around it - as well as in the system it's critiquing). I'd give up filmmaking if I were this distressed with humanity and myself, Bela... oops, he already has, perhaps having realised that being cruel is no way to deal with political cruelty. Must get me copy of Mirror out.