The Turin Horse (2011) A torinói ló (original title)

Directors:

Béla Tarr
Ágnes Hranitzky (co-director)

Writers:

László Krasznahorkai (screenplay)
Béla Tarr (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 March 2011 (Hungary)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A rural farmer is forced to confront the mortality of his faithful horse.

Plot Keywords:

Horse | Bucket | Bed | Wind | Long Take

Awards:

5 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

János Derzsi	...	Ohlsdorfer
Erika Bók	...	Ohlsdorfer's daughter
Mihály Kormos	...	Bernhard
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ricsi	...	Horse
Mihály Ráday	...	Narrator (voice)

Directed by
Béla Tarr
Ágnes Hranitzky		(co-director)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
László Krasznahorkai		screenplay
Béla Tarr		screenplay

Produced by
Martin Hagemann	....	producer
Juliette Lepoutre	....	producer
Marie-Pierre Macia	....	producer
Elizabeth Redleaf	....	executive producer
Mike S. Ryan	....	executive producer
Gábor Téni	....	producer
Ruth Waldburger	....	producer
Christine K. Walker	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Mihály Vig

Cinematography by
Fred Kelemen

Film Editing by
Ágnes Hranitzky

Production Management
Czigler Kata	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yann-Eryl Mer	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
Nick Biscardi	....	commentary re-recordist
János Csáki	....	sound recordist
Csaba Erös	....	sound recordist
Gábor ifj. Erdélyi	....	sound mixer
Gábor ifj. Erdélyi	....	supervising sound editor
István Pergel	....	sound recordist
Drew Weir	....	voice recordist

Special Effects by
Zoltán Pataki	....	special effects technician

Camera and Electrical Department
Tilman Büttner	....	steadicam operator
Miklós Hajdu	....	gaffer
Zsolt Jámbor	....	grip
Tamás Jánossa	....	"a"camera focus puller
Marcus Pohlus	....	steadicam operator
Gábor Szeles	....	best boy

Editorial Department
Donovan Kosters	....	dcp mastering
László Kovács	....	colorist
Judit Szép	....	film grader

Production Companies

• TT Filmmûhely
• Vega Film
• Zero Fiction Film
• Movie Partners In Motion Film
• Werc Werk Works (support)
• Fonds Eurimages du Conseil de l'Europe (support)
• Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (support)
• Motion Picture Public Foundation of Hungary (support)

Distributors

• Basis-Film-Verleih GmbH (2012) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Bitters End (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Cinema Guild, The (2011) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Funfilm Distribution (2012) (Canada) (theatrical)
• New Star (2011) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Sophie Dulac Distribution (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Eye Division (2013) (Italy) (DVD)
• Mantarraya Producciones (2011) (Mexico) (all media)
• Midas Filmes (2012) (Portugal) (all media)
• Rai Tre Radiotelevisione Italiana (2011) (Italy) (TV)
• Versus Entertainment (2012) (Spain) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Sparks  camera equipment provided by
• Sparks  grip and lighting equipment
• Hungarian Filmlab / Magyar Filmlabor  post-production facilities
• Light Odyssey  technocrane rental
• R.D.I Sound Design Studio  sound post-production

Also Known As:

"A torinói ló" - Hungary (original title)
"Nietzsche's Horse" - Japan (English title) (imdb display title)

Runtime:

146 min

Country:

Hungary | France | Germany | Switzerland | USA

Language:

Hungarian | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Mexico:B | South Korea:15 | USA:Not Rated | Germany:o.Al. | Portugal:M/12 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG13

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

TT Filmmûhely

Trivia:

According to Béla Tarr, the book the daughter receives is an "anti-Bible" and the visitor in the film is "a sort of Nietzschean shadow".

Quotes:

Bernhard:Theirs is the moment... nature, infinite silence.

Art with a capital A

Shot by cinematographer Fred Kelemen in glorious black-and-white, Bela Tarr's "The Turin Horse" is a movie more concerned with imagery and tone than with telling a conventional narrative. Indeed, a full twenty-one minutes have elapsed before a single line of dialogue has been spoken, and another six before we get a second (though there is some sparse voice-over narration). And that's about the average for this two-hour-and-twenty-six minute film.

The movie chronicles the daily life of a semi-crippled father (Janos Derzsi) and his weather-beaten daughter (Erika Bok) living in rural Hungary during the 19th Century. The movie does an effective job showing how, for most of our time here on earth, human experience has been a virtually nonstop battle against the elements - and a joyless, nay, soul-crushing, struggle for survival. The deliberate - some might even say funereal - pacing and lack of verbal communication between father and daughter certainly drive that point home.

We're delivered a brief respite from the redundant toil when a disgruntled neighbor wanders in and launches into a rambling diatribe on the metaphysical nature of social and economic inequality, but that doesn't last very long, and soon we're back to watching Bok hauling water, cooking dinner, tending the fire, dressing her father, etc and eating a diet that appears to be made up entirely of boiled potatoes. The movie also shows how, for many in the past and for many still living today, humans are always just one simple event - in this case, the drying up of a well, the sudden illness of a horse - away from full- blown personal catastrophe.

The movie is ostensibly based on an incident that happened to the great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in 1889, when he intervened to stop a cabman in Turin, Italy, from beating his horse, an incident that so traumatized the writer that he took to his bed, became demented, and lived the rest of his life in the care of his mother and sisters. The movie extrapolates from that event to show us the life of that cabman and to speculate on what might have driven him to his mistreatment of the animal. Could it be the numbing sameness and unrelenting brutality of his life that led him to his actions? And could Nietzsche be speaking through the neighbor who comes to visit but cannot convince the father of the truth of what he is saying?

The stark landscape with its sparse vegetation and relentless, moaning wind becomes a major force in the drama as well as a key factor in these characters' lives.

Tarr's direction is hypnotic and artful, to say the least, and there's no denying that the movie does cast a spell of sorts over its audience. That's good because, otherwise, it would essentially amount to two-and- a-half hours of watching people doing chores. But you'll definitely be happier with your own lot in life after seeing it.