Katalin Varga (15)

This haunting debut plays out like a cross between a revenge thriller and some half-forgotten folk tale

Director: Peter Strickland
Starring: Hilda Peter, Roberto Giacomello, Norbert Tanko
Romania/UK/Hungary, 2009, 1 hour 24 minutes, subtitles

Sun 28 February 4.30pm, Tue 2 March 2.30pm, Tue 3 March 6.45pm The Courtyard Hereford

The haunting tale of Katalin Varga, a woman banished by her husband and forced to flee across the beautiful Romanian countryside, travelling in a horse-drawn cart with her son and sleeping in barns. Their search brings them to a remote village and a final confrontation with a man from her past. Reminiscent of The Return in the way that it is pared down to essentials, a captivating, audacious debut that makes superb use of glorious Transylvanian locations and a striking turn from Hilda Peter as a woman pushed to the point of no return.