Sátántangó

Béla Tarr’s international breakthrough and perhaps his defining achievement, Sátántangó adapts László Krasznahorkai’s novel into a monumental meditation on belief, manipulation, and the collapse of a rural collective in the waning days of state socialism. Structured in 12 interlocking chapters that advance and retrace one another like the steps of a tango, the film unfolds over seven and a half hours in glacial, precisely choreographed long takes. At its center is the return of the enigmatic Irimiás (played by Tarr’s longtime composer Mihály Víg), a silver-tongued schemer who promises a bright future in a new promised land while exploiting despair. By turns mordantly funny and devastating, Sátántangó transforms social decay into an epic study of repetition, hope, and the inexorable passage of time. Presented in the 4K restoration undertaken by Arbelos in collaboration with the Hungarian Filmlab. An Arbelos release.