Sátántangó (1994)

Part of Baddeck Library’s Tuesday night film series.

SATANTANGO

Shot in stunning black-and-white by Gábor Medvigy and filled with exquisitely composed and lyrical long takes, Sátántangó unfolds in twelve distinct movements, alternating forwards and backwards in time, echoing the structure of a tango dance. An enthralling portrait of a rural Hungary beset by boozy dance parties, treachery, and near-perpetual rainfall, Sátántangó has been lauded by critics and audiences as a masterpiece and inspired none other than Susan Sontag to proclaim that she would be “glad to see it every year for the rest of [her] life”.