The epic rendering of László Krasznahorkai's novel about the decline of Communism in Eastern Europe. Set in a struggling Hungarian agricultural collective in the 1980s, a group of lost souls reeling from the collapse of their Communist utopia face an uncertain future, until the arrival of a charismatic stranger in whom they believe lies their salvation. Within their small dilapidated village the collective's individual experiences and fates are gradually revealed to us and we follow the events in their lives over the course of one day. Their stories are told separately and from the perspective of each individual but with some of the events overlapping, which are seen again in the context of the particular perspective.
Life for the inhabitants of this rural community has come to a virtual standstill. The autumn rains have begun and the villagers are waiting, expecting to receive a large cash payment that evening, after which they plan to leave. But some want to abscond earlier with more than their fair share of the money. However, they hear that the smooth-talking Irimiás, whom they thought had died, is coming back and they are apprehensive that he will take all their money in one of his grandiose schemes to keep the community going.
First we meet Futaki, who whilst having an affair with Mrs Schmidt discovers that her husband is planning to make off with the money that eight villagers have come into through one of Irimiás's schemes. Then we see Irimiás and Petrina who are trying to evade trouble with the law. Next we follow the overweight and frail Doctor who observes and documents the actions of the villagers, recording everything he experiences in his journals. The fourth story involves Estike, a young girl who, ignored by her mother and cheated by her brother, tortures and kills a cat and then commits suicide – a tragedy which will later be exploited by Irimiás. The fifth gathers all the pertinent villagers together in the village bar, drinking and dancing Satan's Tango until they fall into a drunken stupor.
We then follow the villagers as they make their exodus, journeying on foot through the night to the abandoned manor house where Irimiás has told them they will begin a new and successful life. Having left everything behind they could not carry and having given him all their money, they place their implicit trust in him with little real idea of what his plans for them are. But soon they find themselves unable to ignore the doubts they have about Irimiás's great scheme and we begin to see what lies behind his clever deception – and understand the fate that awaits them all.
A dark portrayal of human nature, forlorn desolation and false hope. The film's compelling images of bleakness and despair are a unique, visionary and entirely captivating experience, perfectly accompanied by composer Mihály Víg's haunting and hypnotic musical score.
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