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Katalin is played by Hilda Peter |
Powerful tale of revenge in haunting mountains
KATALIN VARGA
Directed by Peter Strickland
Certificate 15
THIS heart-rending tale of revenge and retribution, of how the wrath of God strikes down those who break his Commandments, has a haunting atmosphere that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.
We learn hat Katalin Varga has been banished from her village, cast out for possessing a secret that has brought shame on her family. The father of her 10-year-old son Orban is not actually her husband and something happened to Katalin, something terrible, which she has been carrying with her since her son was conceived.
From this opening, we follow Katalin as she sets out to seek revenge on the people who have put her in this predicament.
I don’t want to go too deeply into exactly the nature of the revenge she seeks to exact, as to do so would ruin the suspense that director Peter Strickland builds up slowly, subtly and incredibly forcefully. Let me just say Katalin was subjected to a shocking experience – and this frail mother of one, whose own family has turned on her, has a steely inner determination to ensure those who have wronged her will not get away with it.
Filmed in Romania and with the leading characters speaking Hungarian, Strickland’s incredible film is all the more impressive when you consider he speaks not a word of the language he has shot in.
The director spent his life savings on getting it made – it cost £25,000 – but certainly does not feel cheap.
Its stunning locations are worth much more than a big budget can buy, and that is a testimony to Strickland’s incredible eye for a shot.
The Carpathian mountains between the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine and Romania are a haunting, sinister yet beautiful backdrop.
Throughout the film, as we follow Katalin as she treks with Orban from village to village on a mission of revenge, there is a strange juxtaposition between the old and new: while Katalin uses a horse and cart for her travels, this is a world of tinny Euro-pop music and cheap mobile phones, stone-washed jeans and western mod-cons seeping into the rural peasant life of eastern Europe.
Katalin, played by the striking Hilda Peter, is astonishing in the lead. her nemesis Antal (Tibor Palffy) also has a sense about him which holds the eye.
With themes of revenge and forgiveness, Katalin Varga is a unique piece of film-making and its originality, right up to its shocking and unforeseen finale, makes it a moving experience. |
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