Sølvberget cinematek: Twilight (1991)

Twilight is a film that is easily associated and compared to Béla Tarr's films for several reasons. One of them is that the film's director, György Fehér, was simply a friend and close collaborator with Béla Tarr, having also worked as a producer on the latter's magnum opus Satantango (1994). Tarr, in turn, assisted Fehér as a consultant and advisor. Twilight is also shot by Miklós Gurbán, who would later go on to be the cinematographer for Werckmeister Harmonies ten years later. In other words, the aesthetic kinship with Béla Tarr's films from the 1990s and 2000s is unmistakable.

Simply put, and perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Twilight is a crime film. It is based on a story by the Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt, which was also the basis for The Pledge, directed by Sean Penn and starring Jack Nicholson in 2001. We follow the nearly retired police inspector Felügyelõ, who tries to catch a child murderer who has become known as "the giant" among the locals. Felügyelõ roams deep forests and small villages, and the more resistance he faces, the more obsessed he becomes with the case. And as Felügyelõ's work takes on an existential character, the film's focus on plot is increasingly replaced by atmosphere, mood, and state of mind. The result is almost hypnotic.

Twilight is an overlooked European masterpiece, now fortunately available in a restored version. György Fehér died in 2002, and he only made two feature films. Twilight was his debut, and in 1998 came Passion, where Fehér and Tarr together wrote the script based on James M. Cain's crime classic The Postman Always Rings Twice. Svein Inge Sæther, Cinemateket in Trondheim

Original title: Szürkület Runtime: 1 hour 45 minutes (105 minutes) Country: Hungary, 1991 Director: György Fehér Cast: Péter Haumann, János Derzsi, Judit Pogán Language: Hungarian with English subtitles Age rating: 15 years Tickets available at Odeon Kino Stavanger - Cinemateket i Stavanger - Filmer på Cinemateket ODEON Kino