Bela Tarr's Seven-Hour Epic Sátántangó Available for Streaming in Cinematheque "Virtual Multiplex"

Tarrheads assemble! The Hungarian master filmmaker Bela Tarr's 438-minute epic, Sátántangó, has arrived at the Cleveland Institute of Art's "virtual cinema." Local cinephiles can support the region's only true arthouse theatre by streaming this opus from 1994.

Set in a squalid Hungarian village after the fall of Communism, Sátántangó tells the story of a farming collective whose residents dream of prosperity and escape from their drunken, desolate lives. Their hopes are transformed, though, when  a young Christlike figure promises to lead them to a better place. 

The Cinematheque assures viewers that Tarr's Sátántangó is "at once a monumental black comedy; a metaphysical allegory; a menacing mystery with an interlocking jigsaw structure; and a technical tour-de-force with virtuoso long takes, indelible sound effects, and an unshakeable mood of foreboding."

Given the unlimited amount of time many of us have at our disposal in quarantine, a seven-hour film shouldn't even sound all that intimidating these days. But no need to watch in one sitting. Through the "virtual cinema," (in this case, Vimeo On Demand), viewers will have 72 hours to watch and re-watch Sátántangó at their leisure. A portion of the $14.99 ticket price supports the Cinematheque, which is of course closed due to the pandemic. 

Two additional international titles, both of which sound fantastic, are also now available. Nuestras Madres is the story of a forensic anthropologist studying the genocide in Guatemala in the 1980s, and Jinpa is a Tibetan-language road-trip thriller.  

***
Sign up for Scene's weekly newsletters to get the latest on Cleveland news, things to do and places to eat delivered right to your inbox.