>>I managed to make it to the
>>end... only by watching numerous parts of the movie in fast
>>forward (until the dialogue started up again). Maybe this
>was
>>a disservice to the enjoyment of the movie as it was
>intended,
>>but it was honestly the ONLY way I could have finished it.
>
>Tarr has expressed that he wants time to be a character in his
>movies. He didn't disagree with the sentiment that this movie
>felt dreamy. I think watching it on fast-forward lessens and
>negates the effects of what Tarr was trying to achieve.

I understand that. I knew when I was doing it that it was taking away from the "artistry" of the movie as a whole, but I just couldn't bear to watch a long take of people walking for that long.


>>But aside from that, it was hours of nothing happening.
>
>Some plot macro-events: Janos' worldview being destroyed,
>Auntie Tunde making moves, the riots. Stuff happened. The
>lack of dialogue and long takes of people eating or walking
>can mislead one into thinking nothing happened.

True, that was an exaggeration. But you have to admit, for a relatively long movie, there was not a lot of plot development. And the plot that was there was a bit obtuse... thus, my questions.


>>- Was the mob targeting the rich, the bourgeois, those with
>>political connections, or what? I don't get why they
>attacked
>>the hospital, or killed Janos's uncle.
>
>They rioted out of desperation as a result of being unemployed
>and their dire situation. As to their targets, the only thing
>we know for sure was the hospital assult. What was the
>explosion in town? I don't know. They attacked who they
>attacked because of the prince's rhetoric or other
>related-literature/thought that must've been circulating.

Cool, thanks. I didn't know if I missed some sort of rationale behind who they targeted. I understood that they were poor and frustrated with the direness of their reality, but I didn't know if there was more to it. I guess the prince's rhetoric was important as well, although we never see him incite the crowd.

And I was surprised that no one besides Janos actually went in to see the whale (that we observed). There's this huge group of people - a mob - but they aren't talking, they don't go see the whale (no money to spare perhaps?)... it didn't FEEL like an angry mob to me. More like people waiting for something to happen... which was perhaps fertile ground for the prince's rhetoric, which I clearly underestimated.


>>- What was with the brightly-lit, nude, old guy that dispels
>>the mob? Why did he have such an impact on them?
>
>It broke their riot mentality. It made them realize what they
>were doing. I'm sure they all thought, "What? Jump the old
>man? Fuck that. Fuck this." They must've been thinking: how
>is this shit we're doing helping us? These people didn't do
>anything to us. Also, while it's on the other end of the
>spectrum, it's like being stopped in your tracks by a kid when
>you're acting a fool or something. That's what I got out of
>it. Even more basic than that, though, the image of the old
>man was a visceral thing. Kind of like the whale or the sun.

Cool, thanks. Again, I figured it was mostly visceral, but I wondered if I was missing something symbolic - aside from the helplessness of an elderly naked guy. Still not sure why he was so brightly lit - or perhaps that's just the way they saw him?


>>- Why did the man accost Janos when he was passing through
>the
>>square next to the whale while on his errands? Was he an
>>obvious outsider to the mob?
>
>I don't remember what the man said to him.

I don't either, but Janos was just walking by and the man grabbed the collar of his shirt and starting shaking him or intimidating him.

I didn't know if maybe Janos was a target because he had a job, was connected to a well-known figure (his uncle), and/or because he had money to spare to see the whale on a previous occasion. Maybe it doesn't matter WHY, but just the fact that he was an outsider and not part of the desperate mob.


>>- Similarly, why was his name on the list at the end? Wasn't
>>the army's (?) list supposed to be for people who were in
>the
>>mob, and not ordinary citizens?
>
>Don't know. Aunt Tunde and the police captain were shady to
>me. I think they were taking preemptive measures for any
>possible resistance. Janos and Gyuri weren't necessarily
>eager to help Tunde in the beginning. Or, there's something
>obvious that I'm missing.

Yeah, I figured Tunde was up to shady shit, but you'd think since Janos helped her (albeit not all that willingly), she'd help him out. Unless she's that conniving of a bitch. I wish there had been more about this - the political maneuvering - but again, I like a bit more plot in my movies, whereas it seems this movie was mostly about tone and atmosphere.


>>- Why did it end with Janos institutionalized? I was on the
>>verge of falling asleep at that point so I may have missed
>>something important in understanding the ending.
>
>This isn't the kind of movie to watch before bed!

Yeah, that probably affected my enjoyment a bit.


>Seriously,
>though, Janos was innocent, naive, or whatever in the
>beginning. Happy-go-lucky. The hospital assault,
>eavesdropping on the prince, the explosion, Uncle Lajos'
>murder, and going on the run (helicopter) messed him up bad.
>Not to mention we don't know if the guys who caught him did
>anything to him.

Great points. THANKS!