Originally released in 1990 but still unavailable on DVD, Szürkület (Twilight) stars Péter Haumann and Béla Tarr cast regular János Derzsi in a mysterious tale of detectives hunting for a child killer amid the eldritch, forest-wreathed villages of the misty Hungarian countryside. Such a plot could be well rendered as a hardboiled crime thriller, but this hypnotic, black and white mood piece favours atmosphere and contemplation over narrative drive, hence the deliberately paced tracking shots and soul-searching long takes, soundtracked by lowering drones and glacial chorale.
Although it clocks in at a lean 95 minutes, the late György Fehér’s penultimate feature as director will appeal to fans of the epic slow cinema popularised by his compatriot and occasional collaborator Tarr (whose self-declared swansong The Turin Horse is among the films of the year so far). London dwellers can immerse themselves in Szürkület‘s dreamlike cinematography and haunting score at a rare screening hosted by The Stanley Schtinter Picture Show at the Horse Hospital this evening. Twilight descends at 7.30pm and tickets are a mere £5 advance (£6.50 on the door); more information about what promises to be a special event can be found <a href="http://www.thehorsehospital.com/now/ss-picture-show-szurkulet/
" target="out">here.
