Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)

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AKA: Werckmeister Harmóniák
Directed by: Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky
Starring: Lars Rudolph (Valuska), Peter Fitz (Eszter), Hanna Schygulla (Tünde Eszter)
Country: Hungary, European Cinema
Language: Hungarian (English subs); Effed Up Hungarian Cinema
Runtime: 02:19:25
Genres: Surreal

Plot – Spoilers:
A young man Valuska lives among older folk in a small Hungarian town and does odd jobs while also being helpful to the elderly people that need it. One of them, Eszter is of the firm belief that Werckmeister’s theoretical principles are flawed and the harmonies in music, imperfect. Valuska has a thirst for knowledge and education and is respected by the local drunkards for the things he’s gleaned from hanging around intellectuals in town.

The town itself is abuzz with news of a circus rolling in and the mysteries it offers. While Valuska is simply wonderstruck by the arrival of a massive stuffed whale, the men in town are more interested in a deformed man known as ‘The Prince’, with revolutionary ideas that promise a vent for their frustrations.

Werckmeister Harmonies is a surreal experience in black and white with stunning night-time lighting and mesmerizing long shots and music if you’re willing to allow yourself the patience for it.

4.5 8 votes
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João Carlos
João Carlos
November 26, 2025 4:50 am

Porque tem um cara sempre falando de Hitler nesse site não consigo entender

Ake
Ake
March 2, 2025 6:53 pm

Béla Tarr เจ๋งสุดแล้ว

pepsidog
pepsidog
December 30, 2024 7:01 am

love this. hilarious, moving, and def makes u think.

nomonus
nomonus
December 5, 2024 2:07 pm

I thought this was effedupmovies not IFC

cunt
cunt
November 1, 2024 6:11 pm

if you like this movie you’re a twat

NSDAPwasChristian
NSDAPwasChristian
October 19, 2024 1:04 am

Adolf Hitler elaborates that a leader shouldn’t replace a religion unless he has a better substitute.
There is no substitute for Christianity. The only alternatives presented over the past hundred years are Marxist/ Neo-Pagan religions which are unobjective in their views, doctrines and practices, allowing it to be easily molded by the Jews in media.

“Only fools and criminals would think of abolishing the existing religion”, Stay with Christ.
~ Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, Ch 10

M
M
September 22, 2024 11:56 am

the last movie i expected to see on this site lmao

DavesNotHereMan
DavesNotHereMan
September 17, 2024 11:58 pm

I’m not sure what I just watched. I got the whole Earth-Sun -Moon eclipse thing but what was with the whale? And where was the circus? I noticed that a lot of people seem to hang around the town centre at night, Aunt Tunde is very persuasive, The lead guy has a lot of relatives. They also seem to enjoy watching people walking off in the distance and people seem to march a lot. And finally the helicopter pilot had the steady hands of a surgeon.
Other than that I am at a loss as to anything that was going on.

Dewey budman
Dewey budman
September 15, 2024 5:54 pm

Lengthy art shots of dudes walking, dude running ,dude sleeping .plus Hungarian is a ugly sounding language IMHO ,a little too cerebral for me ,what’s effed up about this sloooooow film is how efffing dull it is ..it ain’t the Terminator 2. I don’t get the stinky whale thing.??

fred fat
fred fat
September 5, 2024 5:48 pm

tedious shit

A freaking snowflake
A freaking snowflake
May 15, 2024 9:28 pm

Was this a metaphor for something? Great atmosphere… music was OK in a simple way. I’m sure it has some political relevance. Okay, watched and moving on.

alan houl
alan houl
January 24, 2022 6:07 pm

evrythng here is a mindfuck one way or the other.. wow
this reminded me of stalker, but the meditation felt more unsettling than elevating. also great score for a movie with such bare minimun sound.

Old Mother Hubbard
Old Mother Hubbard
November 14, 2021 3:53 pm

Absolute masterpiece! It is a stunning and engrossing film. I watched it 3 times in a row and never felt bored at all for even a second. It is that poignant and endearing. Tomorrow I plan to watch this film at least 3 times. If you feel like taking a nap never watch this film. You will feel super energetic after watching this.

Dee
Dee
June 27, 2021 12:14 am

I watched this when it was first posted, and just re-watched it now. Not sure why, but I want to say that this is the greatest film ever made. I cannot really explain WHY i feel that way. Some of the scenes in the second half fall flat. But taken as a whole, this film resonates to my core in a way that no other film ever has

fred fat
fred fat
February 18, 2021 9:29 pm

too many people here think that they need to write film study essays
im all for talking cinematography, editing, sound etc but if you start talking deep meanings u r up your own arse

Mary Valletta
Mary Valletta
September 7, 2020 3:51 am

Great films and wonderful service you are providing, but is it necessary to keep your website address on the screen at all times? It really detracts from the viewing experience. I assure you, no one will forget your website if you take it off. If you continue to provide such a high caliber of films, obscure and otherwise, you will become one of my favorite websites and I will never forget you…but only if you remove that damned supertitle. Thanks for listening.

Elliot Spencer
Elliot Spencer
July 7, 2020 5:49 pm

Many thanks admins! I was randomly searching for this film online and was surprised to see your excellent had it:) I musta missed it before, as I had been wanting to see it for quite a while now, bc I absolutely loved the Turin Horse, by this director as well. A masterwork of film. Many ppl view films w the sole intent of killing time, or wanting to feel something from said genre, without really realizing there r films out there which can b so much more, that are true art in the purest sense, much like the artists painting. This film would b an example of that. I feel that this film was an allegorical poem relating to not only the futility of political movements, but the futility of RESISTING one as well, by not realizing all r bad in some way. Our main protagonist János is portrayed as literally the only person left with any spirit in the town, trying his best to help all around him, and wanting what was best for the town as well. The free thinker, if u will. Relating to the mobs, I feel as if the director left them silent for the most part so the viewer could be caught up themselves in their movement by not thinking about it and not knowing WHY (like the journal said), just as the citizens were, the viewer marching silently along w their masses. Imo, when they rioted and attacked the hospital, they were in… Read more »