Once (2006)

I like Nick Cave a lot. In the last few months, The Bad Seeds have been in my CD player more than any other band, simply because their music is really, really good. I would consider myself a fan of Nick Cave, absolutely. However, I would never think to make a film based mostly on his music. Even if I introduce a few characters (perhaps a charming female lead?), the story would still undoubtedly be lacking, and the quality of the film would depend entirely on how much the viewer likes Nick Cave's music. Using his music for emphasis would be fine (Wings of Desire now available on Blu Ray!), but as a central theme? No thank you.

It is for this reason that beloved indie musical Once is pretty terrible. Take one part street crooner, one part attractive street vendor, add some agreeable, though otherwise unremarkable tunes, and you have a movie about a street crooner, an attractive street vendor and some agreeable, though otherwise unremarkable tunes.

The main character of the film is really the music. Like I said already, the music is far from bad, I might even listen to the soundtrack once in a while if I had it. But I'm not so enraptured by it that I would ever want to see a movie about it. The scenes in the film are really just written around the music, finding ways to allow the flat personalities to interact. Through song.

To its credit, Once is delightfully unpretentious. I don't think I've ever seen a movie so ready to present itself so matter-of-fact, just kind of hoping people would like it, without really expecting much from the audience. At the same time, I think a little pretension is needed. It's a film after all, trying to pretend the camera and crew aren't there and the film is merely happening is as hokey as an Ansel Adams photograph (note: Ansel Adams is just about the greatest photographer ever, but goddamn are his pictures painfully romanticized). Unlike another recent, awful musical, Across The Universe, Once really has nothing going for it outside the music. At least that film had a few neat music videos hidden among 2 hours of poor film-making. Once, on the other hand, feels as though it wasn't even directed, but merely occurred and was documented.

Also, the movie has a really dumb poster.

Satantango (1994)

I don't want to stress the length of Satantango too much in this review, so I think I'll just get it out of the way to begin with: 450 minutes . I'm unfortunately a bit impatient with movies, which surprises people a lot, so I had to split my viewing into three days, a day for each disk of the film. This undoubtedly takes away from the experience; Bela Tarr's films aren't so much about story as they are about mood. However, he is peerless when it comes to transporting the viewer to a different place, so it's almost eerie how I got sucked in after taking a day or two in between disks without missing a beat.

The basic plot of Satantango follows the arrival of a charismatic local who was previously believed to have died during an unnamed war that's pressing closer to the small, rural town. He convinces the farmers to create an agricultural society in exchange for their yearly wages. That's really the meat of the story. Like I said, Tarr's films aren't ever that focused on plot.

Tarr's moods are heart-breakingly entrancing. In more than one instance, the camera follows characters walking for what must be at least 5 minutes without any cutting. Tarr works only in long shots. Supposedly, there are a grand total of 150 shots in the entire film. That means an average shot length of 3 minutes, in case you were wondering but too lazy to calculate.

I find it interesting to compare Tarr's style with that of Gus van Sant, who's film Elephant also featured a number of lengthy shots of characters walking. However, where Tarr's scenes actually add to the atmosphere of the film, van Sant's serve only to remind us of how bland high school hallways are (I really, really hate Elephant. It's currently tied with Reservoir Dogs on my list of movies I never, ever want to see again).

The film is divided into a number of different sections, each focusing predominantly on a single character. Like Reservoir Dogs, the viewer sees the same actions happen numerous times from different perspectives, but unlike Tarantino's film, these scenes don't do much for the plot, they just strengthen the characters by adding significant amounts of depth. I'll admit that I'm entirely biased and think that Tarantino is incapable of making a good film, so I should probably stop using him as an example to explain movies I like.

In these character vignettes, all the motives and actions of the characters are explained and examined. No character is quite as interesting as the doctor, who writes down the activities of the locals in small notebooks. The doctor is morbidly obese, making it ironic that the only character capable of observing life is the most incapable of actually living it.

Satantango is undoubtedly the most complex film I've seen since Inland Empire. Tarr does a very good job mixing a sense of humor that's darker than a moonless midnight with scenes that will actually make you feel really, really uncomfortable. No scene accomplishes this more than one chapter (Those Coming Unstitched, I believe). For about 20 minutes, the viewer is subjected to a hooker's daughter forcing her pet cat to bend to her will, having nothing else that she can physically dominate in her environment. If Tarr hasn't received any PETA death threats for this scene, I'd be amazed. With that said, I'm not sure there's any better filmed segments in the entire film.

I'm sure the length of the film will turn off most viewers, but I must assure anyone interested that the film doesn't drag (unless you simply cannot stand his ultra-slow style of filmmaking). I can remember a grand total of 3 shots in the entire film that I feel should have been shortened or omitted. Even with heavy editing, I can't imagine making this film under 6 and a half hours long.

As a final statement, I have to admit that despite its lofty ambitions, its flawless presentation and its incredible atmosphere, I would recommend his follow up film Werckmeister Harmonies over Satantango. Two great films, but Werckmeister just has something special that I can't figure out (it might be a rotting whale corpse).