The Turin Horse

Director: Bela Tarr
Writer: Laszlo Krasznahorkai, Bela Tarr
Cast: Volker Spengler, Janos Derzi, Erika Bok
Theatrical Release Date: February 10, 2012 11:13 AM
Festivals: Berlin International Film Festival
Criticwire: B+
On The Web IMDB Entry

Synopsis: 1889. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche witnessed the whipping of a horse while traveling in Turin, Italy. He tossed his arms around the horse's neck to protect it then collapsed to the ground. In less than one month, Nietzsche would be diagnosed with a serious mental illness that would make him bed-ridden and speechless for the next eleven years until his death. But whatever did happen to the horse? This film follows up this question in a fictionalized story of what occurred. The man who whipped the horse is a rural farmer who makes his living taking on carting jobs into the city with his horse-drawn cart. The horse is old and in very poor health, but does its best to obey its master's commands. The farmer and his daughter must come to the understanding that it will be unable to go on sustaining their livelihoods. [Synopsis courtesy of IMDb]

trailers & clips

Reviews

Critical Consensus: Shane Danielsen and Andrew Grant Dissect Berlin 2012

An analysis of this year's Berlin International Film Festival from critics Shane Danielsen and Andrew Grant, who discuss some of ongoing problems with the festival as well as their favorites from the lineup.
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From Abel Ferrara to Lynn Shelton, Here Are 11 Great Movies From 2011 Opening In 2012

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News

Berlinale 2011 | Competition Titles from Tarr, Fiennes and Farhadi

As the 2011 Berlin Film Festival crosses the halfway mark, indieWIRE looks at three of the top competition titles from Bela Tarr, Ralph Fiennes and Asghar Farhadi.
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When Censors Attack: What Really Happened With "A Serbian Film," "Turin Horse" and "Presumed Guilty"

Censorship brought global headlines to three films this week. In Hungary, screenings of native son Béla Tarr's "The Turin Horse" have been canceled. A Spanish festival director is under attack for attempting to screen "A Serbian Film." And in Mexico, a prison documentary has been pulled from distrib...
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The Cinema Guild Acquires Bela Tarr's Award-Winning "The Turin Horse"

The Cinema Guild acquired U.S. distribution rights to Bela Tarr's "The Turin Horse," winner of the Silver Bear at the 2011 Berlin Film Festival. The company plans to release the film theatrically this winter.
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Béla Tarr to Receive Full Retrospective at Film Society of Lincoln Center in February

Hungarian director Béla Tarr will be the subject of a complete retrospective at New York's Film Society of Lincoln Center, the organization said Thursday. Under the banner "The Last Modernist: The Complete Works of Béla Tarr from February 3-8, 2012," the six-day even...
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Watch: New Trailer for Bela Tarr's Epic Career-Ender "The Turin Horse"

"Satantango" auteur Bela Tarr's newest - and apparently career-capping - film "The Turin Horse" has a new trailer for its upcoming theatrical release. It features the eponymous horse, wind, a bucket, a window, and not much else, which is quite a lot considering the ...
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