Now, going through youTube recommended lists of "Films that you should see that nobody else has". A must-see list of undiscovered masterpieces. Sitting in a hotel in Kelowna, waiting for the dentist the next day, and so I watch.
The weather, cool, rainy, outside cloudy and grey, the drive - autumn colours and the immanence of winter, all made for the perfect viewing conditions.
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This, a black and white film, filmed in 1990 but set (?? Maybe the 40's, 50's ??) - about a detective on the trail of a serial killer, pedophile who's' murdering children in rural Hungary. It's atmospheric as hell, long takes of the forest, autumn, when panned overhead the trees have their leaves, when filmed on the ground the trees are all bare.
The dialogue, sparse, the soundtrack - haunting and familiar - Kate Bush is listed on the credits, but - I've heard this music before, only where...
The plot, about how when evil, in human form, comes among us how ill prepared we are to recognize or deal with it. Phrases like “Sociopath” or “Pychopath” or “Narcissist” hide it, give it an air of psychological legitimacy…to what most of us must be unknowable and unimaginable. Claustrophobic, haunting, disquieting, a morally grey landscape in which it's always cold and raining, in which the detective is always searching, not only outwards but in himself, in which...well, a few things. That rare combination of a film that makes you think as well as feel (perhaps more the latter.) I'll note this is not a happy or cheerful film, so, perfectly paired for the weather but probably not for everyone.
Link: https://rarefilmm.com/2017/12/szurkulet-1990/
Note, this version is unrestored, so poor resolution and a crackle in the audio. If anything to me it lends it that air of veracity. There are other versions that have been cleaned up and restored, to me it made no difference.