György Fehér’s Szürkület Screening!

First UK outing for cult 1990 Hungarian movie at Horse Hospital tonight

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/

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