The Turin Horse

A torinói ló Directors Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky

2 hr. 35 min. · Hungary, 2011 · Drama · Hungarian, German · Subtitles: Lithuanian, English · Pegi 13

About the film

Legend has it that the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche suffered a mental collapse after witnessing a horse being brutally beaten in a Turin street. In what would become his final feature, Hungarian master Béla Tarr poses an unexpected question: what happened to the horse? The answer takes us to the countryside, where an old, ailing horse - the family’s sole source of income - struggles to continue working for the carter who once beat it. Told in Tarr’s signature meditative style, the film brings together Nietzschean philosophy, a sense of life’s futility and the bleak routines of rural existence.

Details

Running time: 2 hr. 35 min.
Country, year: Hungary, 2011
Genre: Drama
Language: Hungarian, German
Subtitles: Lithuanian, English
Age rating: Pegi 13

Credits

Director: Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky
Screenplay: Béla Tarr, László Krasznahorkai
Producers: Gábor Téni
Cinematography: Fred Kelemen
Music: Mihály Vig
Cast: Volker Spengler, Erika Bók, János Derzsi, Mihály Kormos, Ricsi
More information: www.imdb.com
MUBI: View on MUBI

Festivals and awards

Berlin International Film Festival Grand Jury Prize · FIPRESCI Prize · 2011
Kinema Junpo Awards Best Foreign Language Film · 2013
Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival The World Contribution to Cinema Award · 2023
Palm Springs International Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize - Best Foreign Language Film · 2012

Director

Béla Tarr

Béla Tarr (1955–2026) began making amateur films at the age of sixteen. He made his feature debut in 1977 with the social drama Family Nest, influenced by the work of John Cassavetes. In the late 1980s, Tarr’s visual style underwent a profound transformation: close-ups gave way to more abstract compositions and long takes, while realism shifted towards the metaphysical. More than seven years in the making, Sátántangó is widely regarded as his masterpiece.