The Man from London / A Londoni férfi (DVD Review)

Courtesy of eOne Films

Dir: Béla Tarr (City Life, Werckmeister Harmonies)
Cast: Miroslav Krobot, Tilda Swinton, Ági Szirtes, János Derzsi, Erika Bók, Gyula Pauer, István Lénárt, Kati Lázár
France/Germany/Hungary, 2008

Reason to see: Been curious about this film for literally years

The Man From London is pretty heavy film viewing. I had a feeling of that going in, but I had no idea how intensive it would be. It's in black and while, is filled with really long takes, has extensive periods of time with no dialogue and often I wasn't quite sure what I was even suppose to be focusing on visually.

It's strangely experiential, drawing you in so much so that you feel you are there almost like a voyeur, but in that there is a bizarre and true contrast that feels like not much is happening but also that so much is happening. Having a languid pace, gorgeous visuals and haunting score made the film so engaging that I almost forgot to pay attention to a plot. This is so much the case that part way through I decided to go back and start from the beginning, even though I was fully aware that it's 2h19m long, because I wanted to understand it better. I started to pick up on the details, but I got drawn back into the tone and tempo like I was being put under a spell. So I decided to let go of following the specifics and instead just immerse myself in the experience of watching the film, and let the chips fall where they may and wow, what an experience.

Viewing an experiential film is such a unique thing, and outside Valhalla Rising I can't think of another film that literally felt like I was being transported somewhere else. On paper it's a crime/drama but that doesn't hold justice to what you actually get from sitting and watching the film, which is a unique, engaging and spellbinding window into the dark world of film. It's not light viewing, but it is well worth seeing and experiencing.

No DVD Extras, just English & French subtitle options

The Man from London / A Londoni férfi is available on DVD as of August 24, 2010. Check it out over at Amazon.ca

Shannon's Overall View:
I was entranced it
I'll watch it again
I recommend it to fans of high brow cinema and gorgeous black & white cinematography

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© Shannon Ridler, 2010


Courtesy of eOne Films


Courtesy of eOne Films


Courtesy of eOne Films