Synopsis

On 3 January 1889, Friedrich Nietzsche observed a coachman in the act of whipping his stubborn horse. To end the ordeal, Nietzsche threw his arms around the horse’s neck. The philosopher consequently spent two days lying on the sofa, speechless, only then to speak his last words and spend the next twelve years before his death demented and in need of care. The black and white drama does not, however, deal with the final years of the genius, but rather with presumably the last six days of the coachman and his horse. The film, impressive for its great camera work, shot in some two-dozen takes, is a demanding feast, even for seasoned cinéastes. It shows the monotonous and harsh everyday life of an old man who lives with his daughter on a small farm in the middle of a barren countryside. Every day their situation deteriorates. The storm raging outside is becoming more violent. The horse is ill and has stopped eating: it only wants to die. When the well dries up and the fire in the hearth dies out, only darkness remains on the final day. Béla Tarr’s existential parable is “an apocalyptic film and an obituary for civilisation” (Die Zeit), simultaneously unsettling and fascinating.  

Guests

BELA TARR

Béla Tarr
Director The Turin Horse
Master Class On the Art of Filmmaking
In Vienna: March 25-27