About

In 1889, it is said, Friedrich Nietzsche witnessed a man furiously whipping his horse in the streets of Turin. Overcome with pity for the animal, Nietzsche threw his arms around the horse - sobbing and desperately attempting to protect it from the violence of its owner. Already teetering on the edge of madness, it was at this moment the German philosopher plunged into the stupor from which he would never emerge throughout his final years.

Renowned Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr uses this apocryphal story as the foundation for his self-declared final feature, The Turin Horse. The film is set on a barren farm, inhabited by an aging stableman, his daughter and their horse. Forever tormented by violent gales, they live a meagre and repetitive existence. Over six days, the world around them steadily falls apart, seemingly on the cusp of complete apocalyptic collapse.

The austere narrative belies a sweeping thematic scope rich with spiritual, political and philosophical allegories. It is a film about the destructiveness of both humanity and nature, and the quietude of death. Cinematographer Fred Keleman shoots in stark monochrome, tracking the rituals of the two lead characters across 30 elaborately choreographed long takes. One of the great cinematic achievements of the new millennium, The Turin Horse is a mesmerising meditation on the nature of human existence.

Ages 15+