User reviews

Hukkle (2002), written and directed by György Pálfi, fits into no

genre. It's a Hungarian film, with almost no dialogue, and it's truly

unique.

The work "hukkle" is an attempt to imitate the sound of a hiccup.

Throughout a movie--set in a rural Hungarian village--an old man

sits by the side of a road and hiccups. Meanwhile, life in and

around the village goes on as people eat, work, and play.

Despite the idyllic nature of the landscape, something bad is

happening in the village. A police officer is investigating a crime,

and the director appears to be providing clues for us about what's

happening and why.

I never solved the mystery. The film curator at the George

Eastman House in Rochester--where the film was screened-- told us he

had seen the movie five or six times, and would explain the

mystery to us after we'd watched the film. When he gave us his

explanation, many members of the audience disagreed with him.

Maybe you have to see the movie five times to get it, or maybe after five

viewings you lose it.

According to the curator, this film is due out on DVD, and it's worth

finding and watching. Hukkle is strange, and somewhat

disturbing, but it's not boring.

I just saw the film in 43th Thessaloniki Film Festival and I was amazed. This film is truly innovative and original, both technically(photography, editing, direction)and also as far as its story is concerned. A must-see for everyone. Beware, it's not just a country-life documentary...

Strange film focusing on the human, plant and animal life of a small Hungarian village.

At first i thought there was no real story or plot and it reminded me a bit of films like Bodysong or Naqoyqatsi. However, whereas those films put their images to music this one had no music or dialogue but instead focused on the sounds of life - such as animals, machines etc. You can certainly view this film in that stlye - and enjoy it because although those sort of films can lose your interest after a while Hukkle has great camera angles, close ups and superb editing which means it doesn't outstay its 75 minute running time.

But if you look deeper into the film there is a very subtle plot - as we see a body in a lake at one point and a policemen investigates it. However nothing is resolved and its almost as an aside but once i started thinking about it (or in my case reading about it) the more i want to watch it again!

A unique film.

I am happy that so many people from different countries have liked this Hungarian film - which is quite rare. I loved it, it is very cool, innovative and fascinating. The photography and sound design are excellent. I think it is not by chance that the first member of the crew named in the opening credits is precisely the sound designer.

You have to have some patience to get really into the film, but afterward, it is really worth it. Lots of black humor about eating and being eaten. In fact, eating does not mean anything good in this film...

The morale of the story is well summarized in the closing folksong "Ki az urát nem szereti" (Who does not love her husband). The only time where words are used in this film to say something....

And yes: "Hukkle" does not mean anything on Hungarian, it is an onomatopoetic (sound-imitating) word that imitates the sound of a hickup. (The real Hungarian word for hickup is "csuklás".)

...and even then the Hukkle keeps its own regular rhythm at the very end.

As a kid, I remember there used to be a visual game in magazines where a photograph zoomed in extremely tight or shot from an odd angle was presented, and you had to guess what the object was. This film features many such shots...and in its speechless stroke of genius, the story itself is presented that way as well.

Let me state that this movie is clearly not for everyone, at first it reminded me of the beloved Ann Arbor Film Festival, which hosts many fine but often fiercely independent short films. But "Hukkle", while succeeding in its artful attack, moves beyond that.

But it does so slowly...

The film moves almost at the pace of the tiny Hungarian village where it was mostly shot. Indeed from the DVD extras, I get the sense that Gyorgy Palfi wanted to have the film linger even longer in spots. The (human) actors are all non-professional; while I believe the pig, cat, snake, mole and frog were all professional. The frog also was apparently delicious, at least according to the famished catfish.

I really want to resist saying more, I'm just trying to figure out a way to direct the people who would enjoy this film toward it. I suspect that if you ever entertained notions of attending film school, you would enjoy this. Rambunctious creativity is on display, as it was in "Daisies" which I recently watched and reviewed. Similarly, just seeing a village might appeal to some folks like myself living in the United *Sprawl* of America.

In that village, we see some folks living with plastic sheets as part of their homes. I don't think this could have been made anywhere ...nor by anyone else. Palfi's approach on screen is gentle but, I don't know, proudly peculiar?? Or maybe peculiarly proud? He likely was a city mouse out in the country, but he was welcomed in to their wine caves, their apiaries and those plastic thatched houses, but more importantly the lives of the sturdier folks occupying them.

With the DVD you get a couple of bonus tracks, the subtitled commentary by Palfi and his cinematographer was very insightful on several levels. It almost seemed at times like the film was not only a riddle from Palfi to us the audience, but a puzzling challenge to Gergely Poharnok and the rest of the crew!

Additionally Palfi's voice, it's genuinely genial tone but never mawkishly so, while I don't speak Hungarian, I was curious to see him interact with the villages...and that is also in the Extras!

I eagerly look forward to more of his work, the Taxidermist is not readily available yet...but hopefully soon. Oh, and here is a plug for having Palfi film an adaptation of "The Thought Gang" - a fine book by Tibor Fischer!

This film has grown from a 6 to a 7.5/10 for me...still rising!!

Thurston Hunger

Two more comments...

1) Would love to track down the music (and field recordings) to this.

2) Funniest scene in the film...the very un-Hollywood police chase!!

This film challenges the idea that we need dialogue to define human interaction, or even interaction between humans, animals and the environment. There simply is no dialogue, just a bit of murmuring in the background and some singing near the end. It may sound boring, but isn't because you are constantly wondering what will happen next.

The movie covers the life of a small Hungarian village during the course of, more or less, one day. You see the people, the animals, underground, underwater, in the air, everything. Camera angles are exploited relentlessly to show every little thing, from a car door being unlocked to a fish striking at a swimming frog.

Because of the lack of dialoge, many things are up to the viewer's interpretation. One person may come up with a completely different view of what happened in the movie than another, even if they were watching it together. I watched this with my girlfriend, the red-haired queen of late night cinema, and we had a terrific argument over our differing opinions on what exactly had transpired in the movie. During the argument, she seized a burning stick from the fireplace and commenced beating me with it to emphasize her point, thereby proving the supremacy of a piece of wood over well-constructed film criticism.

This film should be seen by anyone who enjoys experimental film in any way, or simply wants to see something different but not boring. It is not over-repetitive, nor is it slow moving in any way. I applaud the director who can not only conceive of such a movie, but execute it in an interesting and watchable way.

A day in the life of a Hungarian town told by incredible cinematography and acute sound. At the age of 28 in 2002 György Pálfi has put together one of the most unique movie experiences out there. This dark yet funny film at first glance seems to be just a series of random events linked together by smooth camera transitions. But, there is an underlying story here, a caper if you will. "Hukkle" is an onomatopoeia that is supposed to imitate the sound of a hiccup. The opening scene of the film features an old man who cannot stop hiccuping, I believe the director was relating the pace of the film to a hiccup hence the name.

During the opening credits the first name featured was that of the sound engineer Tamás Zányi. A fitting honor since there is no dialog in this film, the story is told entirely through sound. Everything from a growing leaf of grass to a F-16 Fighter jet is represented in precise detail. It truly is amazing to watch and listen to a movie like this. It grabs a hold of you and even though the events are seemingly random, you just can't wait to see what will happen next. It's like watching a Hungarian reality show.

Once you realize that there is a story underneath all of this, it makes it even better. I won't ruin it by explaining the plot, just know by the end you should understand it. If not, there is a nice song at the end with the only subtitles in the film to help explain everything. Although, one would benefit from a second viewing to pick it all out.

Visually, this film is wonderful. Cinematographer Gergely Pohárnok was brilliant. Moving smoothly from one scene to the next going through doors, windows and even bodies. He used CGI or computer generated imaging for some of the scenes which seemed out of place for me. I think it was to showcase more of the sound as in the growing leaf, but I thought it was unnecessary. There were only a few quick cuts thankfully, although, one in particular might make you a little uncomfortable or comfortable if your into that sort of thing.

This film is not for everyone. Some may feel bored with this as the plot is barely there. But, if you view this on its technical merits you will be highly impressed.

There is something very mesmorizing about the rythmic hiccuping of an old man and the shots of pastoral Hungary. But that is not all the film is about. This debut film by Gyorgy Palfi hopefully is the first of many great films. At first this film may seem like a documentary about daily life in a small village, yet it becomes much more, and if you don't pay attention, you may miss the underlying story of a murder mystery. Also, the contrast of country life and technology is shown subtly.

At our showing of Hukkle at the SF International Film Festival, we were lucky enough to have the director present and he answered questions about the film. Though this film is fiction, the underlying occurences actually happened in a small village in Hungary in the 1900s.

Wonderful cinematography, beautiful scenery, unique sounds, and an original idea all contribute to making this film awe-inspiring.

This must be the only foreign language film, (apart from Albert Lamorise's "The Red Balloon") not to require subtitles. The only one there is translates the title of this rural set Hungarian film, from 2002 - as "Hiccup".

But, what we do have is an elderly gent, gently hiccupping his day away, sitting outside his old cottage - as the world goes past. A world that includes a pig, its testicles swinging wildly, just after a shot of villagers enjoying a game of bowls. The postmistress on her bicycle, delivering. Geese, of course. And a giant combine harvester. Plus everything else.

So, we have wit. We also have dark goings on as the womenfolk seem to be feeding their men food and drink that seem to have come from a special source.

Every conceivable village activity, from beekeeping to the flour mill, from the bobbing of the cotton wheels and whirring of sewing machines, to a giant, lazy catfish gobbling a mouthful in the local lake. Even a mole underground, at night, scratches its way to devouring a juicy worm. What IS going on?

The images are often in close-up, the natural sounds amplified. The camera loiters behind objects to throw us off the scent. The scent of what, though? The local constable knows something's going on. Is he exempt?

This ever interesting short film (70mins) does seem to take its time to make its point. Though it actually doesn't, doesn't really matter. A joy....but like actual hiccups, you'll want to move on once it's over.

It's hard to describe this film. It's quite unique. The closest I can compare it to are maybe the Cremaster films of Mathew Barney, but it's really something all of its own.

Hukkle is kind of a symphony of sights and sounds, without any real dialogue. It's just rhythms and patterns and cause and effect, and it's very very cool. Often funny, often disturbing, always fascinating. It's sort of like a nature documentary, with humans as just one of the subjects, just one part of the ecosystem. And underneath it all, there's a strange murder mystery.

I saw this film as part of the Seattle International Film Festival. I hope it gets a wider release, because I'd like to see it again. I want to work out some of the details that I missed the first time through.

The first question came to me is that's a documentary or a narrative? When I watch the film the second time, some details shown me that's a narrative.

Sound (I believe mostly effects, rather that set-recording) connected each phase of the storytelling, without the using of narration, to gave the critics brand new world. I told to others that's a universally understandable craftsmanship regardless it's origination from Hungary. I think it's another type of minimalist & it's like a poem, with utilise the least information to convey gigantic "meanings" , or to say, information, behind.

But consider it if had exceeded the general moviegoers' appreciation. At least jump off from Hollywoodish film pile, may it need a little adjustment of appreciation, for me, at least.

This movie is amazing - amazingly incoherent, that is. Every scene plays like one from a completely different movie, and although certain characters reappear, what connection is intended to be inferred is left up to interpretation. We wander from point to point with absolutely no idea of why, and as it becomes more and more ridiculous (there is a scene straight out of The Matrix, complete with outdated special effects), one can do nothing but stare at the absurdity of it all.

Don't get me wrong - the lack of a story or of dialogue doesn't per se bother me much, it's just that Hukkle tries way to hard to not only be beautiful but also meaningful, and utterly fails. It is pretentious and unsatisfying. Watch it only if you're in need of a good laugh.

The setting for this most unsettling of films from 27 year old director, Gyorgy Palfi, is a tiny village somewhere in Hungary. The scene is one of bucolic

boredom - at least that's what you might think, if you don't pay attention. We see an old man sitting outside his house: he has the hiccups. We see a girl feeding a dog while listening to music through a headset. Men play a game of skittles. A man herds a pig down a street. Woman busily at work in a clothing factory. A

husband and wife and their children, sit down to lunch. A mole burrows, and

hens peck for worms. Palfi's camera lovingly observes these rituals of everyday life: farm machinery, insects at work, flowers blossoming, a lone jet fighter screams overhead. Pigs mate, meals are carefully prepared, then hungrily

consumed. A body lays rotting on the bottom of a lake, while above, a couple

fish for their dinner. A cat dies of poison meant for humans. People die. Funerals are held. There is a serial killer about. There is no dialogue, but the soundtrack teems with a veritable chorus of machinery whirring, bees humming, pigs

grunting, moles scratching. Never does one's attention flag during the film's economical 75 minutes running time. This is one 'out of the box', allright. 7 out of 10

Hukkle is the first feature film of hyper-talented young director Gyorgy Palfi, and is a real masterpiece, the likes of which very rarely come out of the hands of a lively, extroverted 30-year-old. It is one of a kind, cannot really be compared to anything before it; you better judge it by itself. Hukkle does not have dialog or narration at all, what it has is pure rhythm. An old man who sits out in front of his country shack in rural Hungary starts hiccuping, thus setting the pace of the film. If one pays the attention Hukkle deserves, finds out that beyond the series of beautifully breathtaking pictures and unique sound effects the feature does have an underlying story unfolding. A murder mystery to be precise. Cinematorgaphy is at its best, while the mostly amateur cast makes the piece very documentary-like. This is wonder captured on film. A must see for all movie-admirers. It makes me very proud I once knew the guy who is to be credited for all this excitement.

I saw Hukkle two years ago at the national film festival of Istanbul (2002). One of my favorite films and number one in its own, unique category. Every comment is acceptable but with an objective approach i would say that the movie basically explains how murder is actually only death. there is no killer, or victim but death is just a part of the life chain; whatever the cause. And "murder" only exists in "supernatural" (ex. Hollywood) films.

Great film, wonderful. The subject in one hand, the cinematography in the other.. the colors and the natural cycle is shown as it is. Loved it. I just want to be able to buy the original DVD. Any clue anyone. Preferably online...?

Unique! This film doesn't describe itself easily, but above all it's a very lyrical film underlined with a beautiful dramatic story about the life on the country somewhere in Hungary. All seems to go very peacefully, but somewhere underneath the skin it's like the animals in the film want to say that there is definately something going on!

The way you will find out about what is going on will leave you speechless for some time, wanting to see the movie again to possibly find hidden clues and/or messages you've failed to see the first time. This may be the best film that'll be released this year...

I hate animal abuse in every form. Be it for the sake of art or science, nobody can justify killing and torturing animals. Especially animal life is regarded as worthless by many directors.

This is a sickening film as two animals are killed, one of them, a cat, is murdered by being poisoned and suffering a horrible death. The director thinks they have the right to kill or torture an animal to shoot this stupid movie. They did not really need to harm animals in reality to express their ideas. They could have implied killing without actually murdering an animal. Nothing is more precious than life. Nobody has a right to torture a sentient being for shooting another sicko so called "art film".

I saw this movie on this years International Film Festival of Rotterdam. The reason I really love this film is not so much the story which isn't very outstanding. It is the way the story is being told. Almost no talking, just fabulous images and sounds. If you like any work of Bert Haanstra you will surely love this film.

If you have any chance to attend a screening: go go go!!

I suppose we should be thankful for this. Its as purely cinematic as you will get if you think of narrative separate from vision. That's the philosophy of this, one I almost violently reject.

But we do have it. And it is enjoyable, clever, engaging. The notion here is one of granularity. I've written elsewhere about the size of the components in a film, that there are wonderful effects that can accrue when these are exploited. By that I meant component in several dimensions. There's the rhythm of the thing is how long the camera lingers and lines are spoken and effects presented. Mastery of this is rare but when you see it, it matters.

But there's granularity in the narrative as well. You might present chunks out of order, in which case the physical life of them is less important than the degree of abstraction in the way they are presented. Moving, shifting levels of abstraction only seems to work when the size of the brick, the steps in levels of abstraction, are constant. When these two bricks: abstraction in several senses and physical heartbeat are modulated together, then you have something that can penetrate your being.

Now to this. Its lovely. Its a slightly interesting puzzle that leaves us with a refreshing and welcome moral. Its offbeat and therefore attractive on that score as well. But I really didn't like it because there's no understanding of the bricks, the nature of the units that make up a film. This isn't me saying I like this tradition or convention, oh no. Its a matter of how our minds actually work.

Look at this seriously. Its difference from what we normally expect is part of its reason to be and presumably is there to increase its effectiveness at what it is. Small things like a bee's dance, or a bud's breaking are the same abstract "size" as larger things like planting and marrying, and they are the same "size" as global earthquakes and war. Placed in this is a mass murder of husbands, established also as the same size.

Its a nice idea. Wish it worked.

Interesting as all getout is the nature of the Hungarian mind. This is a small country. Many small countries in Europe, especially in the southeast, suffer an inferiority complex. Hungary is a bit different. They are ethnically different from other Europeans, profoundly so. They are a nation with one city surrounded by farms. So invested are they in this city that it is the most urban and in many ways sophisticated in Europe. Hungary — given it size — has produced a phenomenal number of brilliant scientists and mathematicians. Absolutely phenomenal.

And if you know these men and their work, you'll know that they are/were the primary warriors in defining the world geometrically. You don't want a treatise on warring theories in science in a movie comment, but be aware that there are different views of how things are put together in the world, and it boils down to how you abstract the bricks.

We owe the bright Hungarians for the notion that the world has symmetries that transcend numbers and probabilities. Mirrors exist before the eye does. If you go to Budapest, you will find great minds. But if you go to the outskirts and talk to the non-urbanites, you get a kindergarten version of geometric existence.

That's where this comes from. Its interesting. Its novel. Its ineffective and dumb. But pretty. Blocks, all the same.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

There will be many ways to interpret this tale. I'll not synopsize this nearly mute (plenty of sounds - just minimal sub-titled language - and song lyrics, at that!) film gem for you. Plenty of that has already been done by others and in other places.

It is a splendidly crafted film - outstanding storyboarding, cinematography, and "casting." Just see it! Make up your own "gist," if you must. But, whether or not you come up with an underlying theme or specific story, you must "enjoy the ride." See some of the other reviews for the ideas of others as to how to make it more than "beautiful cinematography, sound, and editing" for their own sakes.

(Personally, I think it has subtle hints that make of it a sociological gender study that is not necessarily limited to rural Hungarians, and a murder mystery and subsequent quandary.)

A very interesting and atypical film. You could call it avant-garde, but it also has a lot in common with old silent films. There is no real narrative, and no dialogue, althou there is a song near the end. A few characters appear and go about their business, but so do frogs, factories, farmers, surprising effects, etc. Through creative editing, a picture of a small Hungarian town emerges.

I nearly missed it the first time. I then re-watched the movie. There really is one core story going on here - the movie only diverges from this story in a handful of scenes. There is A LOT more going on than what you might originally suspect. You need to be very observant of what's going on in each scene especially the glances given by people. Follow objects and people around - try to memorize a few faces. I rewound the DVD a couple of times on my second viewing just to check up on people to make sure who was who. A very bizarre story it is - apparently inspired by true events. Loved the music and of course the imagery is fantastic.

If you want to get far away from Hollywood and see the life of old remote European villages watch Hungarian Hukkle.