“Werckmeister Harmonies” (2000) is a two-hour twenty-five-minute adaptation of László Krasznahorkai’s 1989 novel, “The Melancholy of Resistance.” The black and white film follows Janos Valuska (Lars Rudolph) over the course of two nights and three days in an unnamed Hungarian town. The impending arrival of an attraction consisting of a whale and an offscreen persona referred to as The Prince sparks rumors of impending doom among the townspeople. Are their concerns unfounded since Janos’ twilight and early morning strolls only show stillness and emptiness?
“Werckmeister Harmonies” is not the kind of film that a family throws on for entertainment. If you want to see it, you need to own a DVD player that plays DVDs from other regions then look for a DVD through a website that serves countries other than the US, and you still may not get it. Your best bet is to be privileged enough to live in an area with an art house cinema and monitor the schedule for when the Film at Lincoln Center’s 4K restoration is making the rounds. I went to the Brattle for a limited showing.
“Werckmeister Harmonies” is renowned for consisting of thirty-nine lengthy tracking shots, which means that directors Bela Tarr and Agnes Hranitzky had to coordinate the camera work with the actors without using editing to cover up errors. To put it into perspective, films like Orson Welles’ “Touch of Evil” (1958) or Robert Altman’s “The Player” (1992) receive accolades for having a single long shot for a shorter time. In other words, when you watch this Hungarian film, you better like what you see because you will be watching it for a long time. No TikTok quick cuts here. While it is riveting, you want to be well rested and alert before starting.
The opening starts with a close up of a grill on a fire, which is doused with water from a beer mug then pulls back to reveal that the man holding the mug is the bar owner and trying to get the men out so he can close. He is not troubled when the men ask for Janos to show them something. Janos orchestrates the men into reenacting the solar system’s movement, specifically the sun, earth and moon during an eclipse. Janos is the youngest and thinnest in a group of burly men who permit him to spin them around. It is an adorable, incongruous, science-based bedtime story. Janos does not face the men when he tells this story, but the camera so it is a stylized, theatrical performance that sets the stage of what will follow. The owner waits until the end to resume his call to kick them out and appears to be stern and anxious.
This opening sequence introduces important themes for viewers to consider while watching “Werckmeister Harmonies.” If you want to understand an artsy fartsy film, the following questions would be helpful. While watching, ask yourself about the significance of the number of people onscreen? Is there one person, a normal amount of people considering the context or a growing crowd? What is the mood of the people featured in this scene: normal considering the context, and if not, how so? Are the people/the fire contained or out in the open? What do you hear in this scene: music or diegetic sounds? How do these sounds make you feel? Please note if you hear the sounds repeat in a later scene. Does this repeating sound remind you of an earlier scene and ask yourself how the scenes relate to each other?
“Werckmeister Harmonies” makes parallels between fire and men. As Janos makes his rounds throughout the town, he never changes, but the attitudes of those around him does and so does his environment in a short amount of time. Because the film is black and white, it is jarring when a television or a helicopter appears because these objects serve as a reminder that it is not a historical film, but supposed to feel contemporaneous. It is not a historic recreation, but the distillation of a phenomenon experienced in Hungary at least two times in the twentieth century with the invasion of the Nazis then the Soviets. Tarr and Hranitzky are reflecting on how neighbors can turn on each other with few external agitating factors.
“Werckmeister Harmonies” is subtle and gradual in the way that the unsettling atmosphere becomes undeniable. It feels like the merging of a Biblical and political apocalypse with the whale seemingly evoking references of a Leviathan, a primordial creature that only God can defeat, and an anti-Christ figure in the form of The Prince. If all art falls into four categories: heaven, hell, pre- and post-fall, this town is planted in post-fall. The Biblical references can be dismissed. It is human evil using the flimsiest excuse to wreak havoc on earth. The attraction is called a circus, but it bears little resemblance to the images usually associated with a circus. This circus comes in the form of an imposing, corrugated metal box (an ark) being towed, not a caravan. Only a fallen world would feature a stuffed whale in a dark, narrow space. Many of the people in the bar are in the rabble that the Prince stirs up and later treats Janos like an unwelcome stranger.
If the “Werckmeister Harmonies” has an apocalyptic tipping point, it may not be what you think. Janos works at night by delivering newspapers and tending to Uncle Gyorgy (Peter Fitz). Janos uses uncle then follows with the first name of the man whom Janos is addressing. Uncle can be a term of affection signifying familiarity, but not necessarily a family relationship so without reading the book, it is unclear the relationship between Janos and Gyorgy. It is later revealed that Gyorgy is an influential and powerful man who does not have to work and spends all day meditating on how Andreas Werckmeister, a Baroque era German musical theorist, composer and organist, caused all the problems in the world. Side note: can viewers with a musical background comment on if the score, the (untuned?) piano and Gyorgy’s theories are related and have a deeper significance? Based on the opening sequence and his relationship with Gyorgy, Janos has considerable community influence.
At the end of his work shift, during the day, Janos goes home, which reveals that the wall covering by his bed has an illustration of the solar system; however, he does not get to enjoy his dinner and go to bed before Tunde Eszter (Hanna Schygulla), whom he calls Aunt, interrupts him. She refuses to leave and threatens to resume living with her husband, Uncle Gyorgy, if they do not give in to her demands. Please note that denying someone sleep and denying food are ways to brainwash someone. Janos gives in to her request and uses his influence to convince Gyorgy to give in. Gyorgy initially says, “We’re not going to make the same mistake twice.” Wait, what? It is possible that without reading the novel, this dialogue is incorrect, but these two men prioritized their comfort over the welfare of their community, and at least Gyorgy knows of the devastating consequences of this choice.
If “Werckmeister Harmonies” issues a powerful message, it is how people rationalize trusting a bad-faith person despite knowing better. The final scene is embodied in the Rita Mae Brown quote, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Even the apocalypse becomes a routine, and all the inmates are roaming the streets. Also recall the following Kurt Vonnegut’s quote, “A sane person to an insane society must appear insane.”
