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Poster for Werckmeister Harmonies

Werckmeister Harmonies

2001 · 2h 19m · N/A Drama
Directed by Béla Tarr , Ágnes Hranitzky

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Overview

A naive young man witnesses an escalation of violence in his small hometown following the arrival of a mysterious circus attraction.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
98%
Tomatometer
Fresh

As wearying as the film becomes in its long, bleak sequences, its uniquely cinematic and emotion-charged experience makes the effort worthwhile.

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Fresh

Six years after the 7-1/2-hour Satan's Tango, Magyar maverick Bela Tarr makes a stunning feature return with "Werckmeister Harmonies," another hypnotic meditation on popular demagogy and mental manipulation that's a snap at 145 minutes.

Derek Elley, Variety
Fresh

Bela Tarr's style seems to be an attempt to regard his characters with great intensity and respect, to observe them without jostling them, to follow unobtrusively as they move through their worlds, which look so ordinary and are so awesome, like ours.

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Fresh

A chilling, mesmerizing, intense account of ethnic cleansing (in spirit if not in letter) from Hungarian master Bela Tarr.

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Fresh

Over two hours and 20 minutes, not much actually happens, and Tarr creates a mood so lulling that even the rare scenes of dialogue can be hard to follow. But Werckmeister's standout moments are searing like few others in film history.

Noel Murray, AV Club

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