Hukkle (12A)

Director: Gyorgy Palfi
Starring: Ferenc Bandi, Jozefne Racz, Jozef Farkas
Hungary, 2002, 1 hour 15 minutes, subtitles

Without a word of dialogue, this picture of village life is a smart exercise in undermining traditional forms of storytelling and definitely one of a kind. Ther’s as much focus on the animal life - moles creeping along their tunnels, bees buzzing, lily of the valley growing in deep, dark woods – as there is the human. But beneath the apparent harmony of the idyllic village there lurks a sinister mystery that results in two funerals and a murder. Violence and death are all pervasive with human fatalities given no more prominence than those of worms and ants. The superb soundtrack suggests that the fierce pulse of nature is always ready to break through the mundane surface of events. Never has peasant life seemed both so idyllic and so dangerous. A weird and wonderful film that won’t be everybody’s cup of tea, but if you fancy something completely different, give it a try.

“Think Microcosmos meets Twin Peaks” Sheila Johnston, Screen International

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