HUKKLE

TUESDAY 4 NOVEMBER AT MIDDAY UGC HAYMARKET SCREEN 2

Country Hungary Running Time 75 mins Format 35mm Director/S'play Gy"rgy P"lfi Producers Csaba Bereczki, Andras Bohm DoP Gergely Poharnok Cast Ferenc Bandi, J ¬zsefne R"cz, J ¬zsef Farkas Print Source Memento Films E emilie@memento-films.com

P"lfi received a Fassbinder prize for this debut at last year's European Film Awards. This is a weird choice of subject matter for a first movie, but P"lfi in his courageous debut has created a rhythmic puzzle where hiccupping replaces dialogue in a story of mysterious murders in a small rural village. There is no dialogue but the amazing photography easily keeps us interested - it looks fantastic. The sounds of the nature are calmly remixed with the constant hiccupping of an old man, the only silent witness of events. The story starts with a worm popping out of the ground and ends with a showery rain. In between this a kind old lady picks lilies of the valley; women sew at the dressmakers; men drink in a pub; the bee-keeper collects the honey; a shepherd-woman is listening to a walkman; a mechanical harvester harvests the wheat which will be taken to the mill and made into flour and then, in grandma's kitchen, into dumplings; while all this goes on, the policeman investigates a murder.

With an engagingly original sense of humour, the director balances and guides us through the story perfectly. It is really difficult to make a movie without dialogue work, but P"lfi pulls it off brilliantly. This film is a perfect exercise in wordless narrative, excellently photographed. AK

Gy"rgy P"lfi was born in 1974. He studied directing at the Hungarian Academy of Drama and Film Arts. He has made several short films including The Fish (1997), Knockknock (1999), Round and Round (1999), Hallo Baby (2000). Hukkle is his first feature.