Man From London [DVD]

The fact that this film is long and slow is not a problem. That's the unique vision of Bela Tarr
and those already familiar with his style should rejoice that this film ever made it to completion.

Is it just me, or do the shadows cast over the troubled production, somehow continue on screen?

The only issue I have with this film is the use of overdubs. I see no reason for this and it distracts and detracts from the sound and viewing experience. In the films mentioned below, I almost think the sound is better than the beauty of the photography. I have seen a short clip of this film without the overdubs and it works so much better. I hope it wasn't to try and reach a wider audience and indeed hope any future release will provide an audio option to play with subtitles only. Also, I feel Mihaly Vig's score is overused to the point of intrusion.

If you're new to Bela Tarr, check out the 'Werckmeister Harmonies' and 'Satantango' first.

I'm a great fan of Bela Tarr's works and I rate "Satantango" as one of the most remarkable films that I have ever seen. His latest film "The Man from London" is recognisably Tarresque; it is shot in monochrome and features typically heavy set, morose middle aged men living isolated and monotonous lives in a wintery landscape although this time the backdrop is a French fishing village rather than some forgotten part of Hungarian Ruritania.The film is slow moving and has little dialogue.The plot is simple ; a railway signalman witnesses a murder following the recovery of a mysterious suitcase (which turns out to have been stuffed with money) that was tossed from a moored boat and an English police inspector is despatched to recover the money and solve the murder.The signalman fishes the suitcase out of the sea and hides the money , but the Man from London soon closes in on the murderer and the signalman. "The Man from London" is beautifully filmed and well paced , but I still would place the excellent "Werckmeister Harmonies" and "Damnation" ahead of it on the grounds of their excellent imagery and sheer other worldliness.

Great Art House director Bela Tarr's, The Man from London, tells the story of railway signalman Maloin (Miroslav Krobot), who hardly registers what is going on around him. Suddenly his life takes a turn, when he witnesses a murder and becomes mixed up with a English police inspector (István Lénárt), in matters that are completely foreign to him, forcing him to face morality and the thin line between innocence and complicity.

The film was beautifully shot in black and white by cinematographer Fred Kelemen (who recently did Tarr's new film The Turin Horse) and the acting of Miroslav Krobot and Tilda Swinton was excellent. With brilliant Mise-en-scène from Tarr, masterful long takes by Kelemen and atmospheric composition from his long time collaborator Mihaly Vig, this film could easily have been a masterpiece, like his previous films Satantango and Werckmeister Harmonies.

However, there are small problems, which there could have been without. The over the top Britishness of the inspector was very stereotypical, sounding and acting like something out of a 1940's Ealing Studios film. Another thing was that István Lénárt, must had been well over seventy, which makes this quite unrealistic. These details lessened the film, making it an outstanding to watch, but failing to reach it's full potential.

Compared to most films you see being made now days, this is an excellent film, besides it's shortcomings. Although it is not one of the best of Tarr's work, it is still worth purchasing, for it's breathtaking cinematography and the impeccable acting of Krobot and Swinton. If you are new to Bela Tarr, get Werckmeister Harmonies, which I believe to be his best released on DVD and one of the greatest films of the last decade. If you already have Tarr's other films then you should definitely add The Man From London to your collection as it is still a great film which should not be missed.

Special Features: Interview with Bela Tarr
Language: Mostly French with a small amount of English
Subtitles: English
Certificate: 12
Dolby Digital 2.0
Black and White
Region Code: 2
Running time: 90 mins