Katalin Varga (Peter Strickland, 2008)

[MichaelB]

I'm surprised that this doesn't appear to have been mentioned even in passing in these forums till now, but better late than never.

I was really impressed with this - shot on a minuscule budget (reportedly around 25,000 euros) in Transylvania by a young British director who didn't speak either Hungarian or Romanian at the time (he's since moved to Budapest with his Hungarian girlfriend, though when I met him a couple of months ago he said he was still struggling with the language), it's essentially a rape-revenge melodrama, but structured and shot in such a way as to constantly pull the rug out from under your expectations - I don't want to go into too much detail as Strickland maintains narrative suspense by the very gradual introduction of small but crucial details, and the less you know in advance the better.

What I can say without spoilers, though, is that he has a superb eye for landscape and sense of space in general, both in long shot and close-up, and that his apparently obsessive interest in David Lynch's soundscapes has more than paid off in his own sound design, which blends heightened natural sounds with electronics to create a genuinely unsettling effect even during the most apparently innocuous scenes.

There's one really extraordinary moment, a lengthy monologue (itself incongruous in a film that otherwise has relatively little spoken content), delivered in a small rowing boat, in which the surrounding landscape seems to slip and slide in parallel with the story being told, finally beginning to rain almost imperceptibly as Katalin lies back as though awaiting absolution. This may well have been serendipitous coincidence at the time of shooting, but it works like a dream.

Performances are rock-solid too, from Hilda Péter's crucial central anchor down to the minor roles - a good example of Strickland's eye for unnerving detail comes during Katalin's encounter with a suspicious farmer, his bare chest offset by equally white neck brace and underpants as though he simply doesn't care that there are women and children present.

I've only seen it on a DVD screener thus far, but Strickland is presenting the film at the Curzon Richmond in south-west London on 9 October, and I'm very tempted to go, despite the incongruous location. Does anyone know if he's doing a Q&A closer to the centre?

[Tark]

I'll see it if I ever have the opportunity.

[MichaelB]

Strickland's blog has plenty of background, including a long interview and a meticulously detailed account of how the soundtrack was put together.

[franco]

Seeing this next Thursday. Really looking forward to it.

[Nothing]

I've mentioned Strickland in passing... Katalin Varga is pretty good, the scene in the boat is amazing, good casting, effective sound design (although I gather the team behind Bela Tarr's work were responsible for this, at the behest of the co-producer). He makes a number of beginners errors, some perhaps imposed by the budget and schedule - still, Strickland achieves more with 25,000 euros than the UKFC, BBC, etc have achieved with £xm in a decade... I feel he can accomplish great things - if he continues to do it his own way (and that won't happen within conventional structures).

p.s. They really fucked up the D/I, don't know what happened there, but you won't benefit much from seeing in the cinema I'm afraid.

[MichaelB]

I feel he can accomplish great things - if he continues to do it his own way (and that won't happen within conventional structures).

Well, he's teamed up with Keith Griffiths for his next project, which bodes well.

[Nothing]

Not really, I'm afraid. Griffiths is from an older generation, he has little power in the UK industry at this time (pulling in co-production funds for a foreign director is one thing, seeding an indiginous project something else altogether). As I understand it, they've approached the UKFC for development funds - so, in a year or so, the project will have either been dropped or beaten with a mallet until it resembles the usual dog turd. Okay, so let's hope they take the development money and run, then they'd be looking at raising hard capital - but that's a huge ask for anything even tangentially arthouse in the current climate. Maybe supplementing with European co-production funds. It's remotely possible, I guess. If that's the strategy, though, better to take the initiative now and get on with it, not waste a year taking orders from a bunch of over-inflated civil servants in the hopes that they will confer their 'blessing'.

[j99]

An interesting article about it in this month's (November 2009) Sight And Sound. Amazing it only cost 30,000 euros to shoot. It's one I'm interested in, although I suspect I'll have to wait for the DVD. I guess it will be released by Artificial Eye at some point?

[MichaelB]

An interesting article about it in this month's (November 2009) Sight And Sound. Amazing it only cost 30,000 euros to shoot. It's one I'm interested in, although I suspect I'll have to wait for the DVD. I guess it will be released by Artificial Eye at some point?

Yes - they're working on it right now.

[Nothing]

So, the disappointing sophomore feature is underway, Peter "well weapon" Carlton presiding.

[swo17]

I contacted Peter Strickland on his blog about U.S. distribution plans for Katalin Varga and got this disappointing response:

As far as I know there has not been any US distribution interest. Quite a few prints exist around Europe, but I'm no longer in contact with anyone who can help there.

That first sentence makes about as much sense to me as the statement "children around the world don't want presents for Christmas this year."

In any case, it seems that for the foreseeable future, the only option for U.S. viewers (or most anyone else, I suppose) is to import the Artificial Eye DVD from the UK, which as of this writing, is only a measly £5.11 (68% off).

I really hope people check this out--the film gets my highest recommendation!

[gyorgys]

(...)
I really hope people check this out--the film gets my highest recommendation!

FWIW, I fully agree with that!

[Nothing]

That first sentence makes about as much sense to me as the statement "children around the world don't want presents for Christmas this year."

Why? It's an okay-for-the-budget film, but primarily of interest to UK audiences (and only then because of the buzz the UK press decided to create around its British director). US distributors are notoriously conservative atm - far far better work than this misses out on US distribution on a monthly basis. Think about it: Uncle Boonmee wins the Palme d'Or, and yet they're still stuck with a third-rate company like Strand Releasing. What chance does a tiny, bleak Euro-indie like this have?

The new thing he's doing with Warp will hit stateside, however. Firstly because it's horror, and secondly because Carlton and co. have existing relationships. My guess would be IFC. And I guess as that point there's a chance they'll pick up Varga as well, as a kind of glorified DVD extra.

[swo17]

That first sentence makes about as much sense to me as the statement "children around the world don't want presents for Christmas this year."

Why?

Because I...like the movie? My apologies if I forgot to filter this opinion through the UK press cabal.

[MichaelB]

My apologies if I forgot to filter this opinion through the UK press cabal.

Nothing constantly refers to this "UK press cabal", and I keep feeling as though I must be missing out. Maybe they sent me an application form but it got lost in the post and they assumed I was snubbing them.

Actually, in the case of Katalin Varga, not only did I watch it alone on DVD but I'm not sure I was even sent any press notes with the screener. And I certainly couldn't have checked to make sure I was toeing the UK press cabal line, as I wouldn't have had the chance to read another British review before my deadline.

[Nothing]

At what point did this become about the UK film industry cabal? I thought we were talking about US distribution...

Swo17 liked the film, fine, perhaps a little bit more than I did (I found it a promising first effort but unevenly directed and far from fully realised, ie. quite obvious why it was screening in Berlin rather than Cannes or Venice), but the US distribution situation has nothing to do with whether either of us liked it. The film is: a/unremittingly bleak, b/ ultra-low-budget, c/completely independent (ie. there are no favours to be traded or relationships to be massaged) and d/it opened at a B-List festival, where it made only a small to moderate splash (before someone raises a hand, trust me, from a sales perspective, the only festivals that really matter are Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Pusan) - ergo, it's extremely obvious why it doesn't have US distribution. Although, as I said, my prediction is that IFC may take it on in a year or two for DVD/VOD alongside Strickland's second (industry-funded and supported genre) feature.

[MichaelB]

At what point did this become about the UK film industry cabal?

Er... at the point that you raised the subject yourself?

Not that I disagree with you - I fully appreciate what a hard sell a film like this would be without any kind of marketing hook, and it almost certainly wouldn't have got British distribution if the director had been Hungarian.

Romanian, possibly, as the country's fashionable right now and the film is at least part-Romanian, but the number of Hungarian films to get British distribution over the last decade only barely needs a second hand to count them. And if you take Béla Tarr, Kornél Mundruczó and György Pálfi out of that equation, there's not a lot left.

[Lemmy Caution]

... and Pusan.
Really?
Is this just for Asian films?
Doesn't necessarily mean much, but I live in China and here nothing about Pusan ever.

I see plenty of indie films with Golder Bear hype on the cover.
Maybe just wishful marketing, but seems to correlate noms and wins in Berlin with getting released. In China, Berlin is well-respected, but that might have to do with the level of aspirations in the Chinese film industry for now.

I'm not much up on various film festivals, even the creaky Shanghai version, but that's the perspective I get.

I do think that Katalin Varga has more appeal to US audiences than Uncle Boonmee, but that probably reflects my preference.

[swo17]

I'm well aware that my whims have little to no impact on the global distribution of obscure films, and that there are many, many films that never get distributed here, but there are also many that do, and I would just have hoped, given my own reaction to the film as well as that of several others here, that someone with the power to do so would have had a similar reaction and wanted to take a chance on it. I also don't think it would be too difficult (or inaccurate) to sell this as an engaging thriller with some Lynchian nightmare elements thrown in. Maybe throw a "Quentin Tarantino Presents" on top, and you have yourself a minor indie hit.

[reaky]

I can see how the excellent Katalin Varga could have wide appeal, marketed and distributed effectively. It is a quest narrative, with a central enigma and strong linear progression; and there is a flavour of arthouse favourites Herzog and Tarkovsky in it.

[Nothing]

Pusan. Really?

Other than Cannes, I would say Pusan is the best place for selling European films into the Asian market, although HK runs a close third.

I see plenty of indie films with Golder Bear hype on the cover.

The Golden Bear itself has a certain amount of cred, of course, but the chances of winning are slim and the festival is otherwise very much a B-List platform. Having said this, it worked well for The Turin Horse this year, Tarr being a big fish in a small pond, the film probably sold better than it would have done against heavier competition in Cannes.

I can see how the excellent Katalin Varga could have wide appeal, marketed and distributed effectively. It is a quest narrative, with a central enigma and strong linear progression; and there is a flavour of arthouse favourites Herzog and Tarkovsky in it.

But regardless of the intentions (which I agree to be fairly noble), execution is all. You can't just use a word like "excellent" and hope this will paper over the dodgy supporting performances, unsatisfyingly brief running time, bad lighting and inappropriate use of handheld (simply because the director couldn't afford a dolly...).

Having said this:

Maybe throw a "Quentin Tarantino Presents" on top, and you have yourself a minor indie hit.

SpoilerShow

If she didn't get bludgeoned to death at the end I might almost agree with you.

And Mchael does raise an interesting point: if the very same film had been made by a Romanian director (or if Strickland had used a Romanian pseudonym - a female Romanian pseudonym, even better!), I believe its chances of US distribution would be somewhat higher.

[Camera Obscura]

I absolutely loved this film.
Didn't think of some of its budget-related 'shortcomings' as particularly off-putting. Personally, I don't care much about technicallly proficient films anyway (for low-budget European cinema at least..). With the hazy 16mm footage of Transsylvanian locations, amateurs in the supporting cast and the rather loose revenge motive, it kind of worked in its favour.

And Mchael does raise an interesting point: if the very same film had been made by a Romanian director (or if Strickland had used a Romanian pseudonym - a female Romanian pseudonym, even better!), I believe its chances of US distribution would be somewhat higher.

I do agree this is a difficult sell for US markets (or any market). One rather desperate trick would be to pull it out of the obscure euro-arthouse dungeon alltogether. Lose the title and the woman on the cover/poster and emphasise the horror and revenge motive. Bound to disappoint some people (Strickland too perhaps) and a little too late for this film of course (over three years since its initial release), but sillier things were done when it comes to selling Euro-titles Stateside.

[tajmahal]

As it happens, this is airing on Australian tv tonight (March 15) SBS 1, at 11.40pm.

[Nothing]

Personally, I don't care much about technicallly proficient films anyway

It's not just a question of technical proficiency... The aesthetic of a film shouldn't be defined by budget, or by the easiest thing to do (certainly not if making comparisons to Tarkovsky...).

[jbeall]

Well, I wouldn't have noticed the (lack of a) budget had I not read this thread, so remarkable are the widescreen compositions and the sound design (and for me to notice it, that's saying something!). Gorgeous film, that I simply didn't want to stop looking at.

The scene in the rowboat is indeed a tour-de-force, and in general Strickland has a great eye for his actors whose angular faces are wonderful to look at, even if they're not necessarily conventionally comely.

At around 5 quid, when I ordered it, there's no reason not to pick this film up. I'd love it if a US distributor decides to release it stateside, but it's worth watching regardless. I was really impressed, so much so that I re-watched quite a few of the long takes just to absorb the landscapes Strickland was shooting. Incidentally, in the interview on the AE disc, he mentions Herzog as an influence, and I can certainly see that. With some of the shots of the fog rolling into the forested hills, I was getting a (subtle!) hit of the memorable opening shot of Aguirre. Terrific film.