Hukkle
Tags: psychedelic, murder

Plot synopsis:
The story takes place in an ordinary village in Hungary. It begins with an old man who has hiccups, and takes place in front of his house near a can of milk. He observes the daily habits of the villagers, and the viewer is shown many sequences about different events: A young man drives his horse and cart filled with milk cans. Normally he would clean the cans, but he's distracted by a girl sitting in the sun. A threshing-machine is harvesting. A cat becomes poisoned and eventually dies. A mole is killed by an old lady ploughing the ground and she gives the mole to her dog. A farmer takes his pig to a sow for fertilization and the two owners watch with satisfaction when the pigs copulate. The men of the village bowl to kill time. The old man is still having hiccups.
The village seems idyllic, but there are mysterious things happening. During these events, there are sequences about women trading bottles with unknown liquids. From time to time a man dies and the collective village walks up with a chest and comforts the widow. The postwoman also shows up from time to time and gives the widow her dead mother's pension. It all seems harmless and normal life continues after the burials. When a fisherman disappears, a local policeman is determined to find out what happened to the fisherman and eventually finds out at the end when he sees the mailman appear with a package for the widow.
With (almost) no dialogue in the movie, it seems the events around the villagers, animals, and plants have no meaning. However, at the end of the movie there is a wedding where some girls sing an old folksong which reveals the murder-mystery.

Review: This film challenges the idea that we need dialogue to define human interaction, or even interaction between humans, animals and the environment.
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.
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.
I applaud the director who can not only conceive of such a movie, but execute it in an interesting and watchable way..
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..
Hukkle is kind of a symphony of sights and sounds, without any real dialogue.
It's sort of like a nature documentary, with humans as just one of the subjects, just one part of the ecosystem.
The setting for this most unsettling of films from 27 year old director, Gyorgy Palfi, is a tiny village somewhere in Hungary.
Palfi's camera lovingly observes these rituals of everyday life: farm machinery, insects at work, flowers blossoming, a lone jet fighter screams overhead.
Never does one's attention flag during the film's economical 75 minutes running time.
I am happy that so many people from different countries have liked this Hungarian film - which is quite rare.
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.
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.
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.
It's a Hungarian film, with almost no dialogue, and it's trulyunique.The work "hukkle" is an attempt to imitate the sound of a hiccup.Throughout a movie--set in a rural Hungarian village--an old mansits by the side of a road and hiccups.
Meanwhile, life in andaround the village goes on as people eat, work, and play.Despite the idyllic nature of the landscape, something bad ishappening in the village.
The film curator at the GeorgeEastman House in Rochester--where the film was screened-- told us he had seen the movie five or six times, and would explain themystery to us after we'd watched the film.
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 worthfinding and watching.
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.
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.
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 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.
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've written elsewhere about the size of the components in a film, that there are wonderful effects that can accrue when these are exploited.
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.
Wish it worked.Interesting as all getout is the nature of the Hungarian mind.
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.
This film is truly innovative and original, both technically(photography, editing, direction)and also as far as its story is concerned.
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.
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.
What IS going on?The images are often in close-up, the natural sounds amplified.
This ever interesting short film (70mins) does seem to take its time to make its point.
A joy....but like actual hiccups, you'll want to move on once it's over..
The best movie I have seen in many many years.
To me this is what film making is all about.
It was recommended by a friend who owns a video store in Hungary and sees countless movies all the time.
I was simply mesmerized by the cinematography, sound, and video effects.
Hollywood film making is way behind the sophisticated European thinking and creating.
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!
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.).
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..
...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 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.
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.
"Hukkle" is cinematic experience that looks like the greatest (mute) documentary ever put on celluloid, but if you concentrate just a little more, you'll notice that this is actually a serial killer thriller...
Environmental detail makes a fascinating film.
May I also add that in addition it is also rather beautiful, somewhat brutal (some of the animal stuff bothered me a bit, especially the semi-paralysed cat - which I trust was faked somehow, I hope...) and just when you start slipping into the rhythm of the film the director keeps pulling out surprises to keep you on your toes, or awake depending on your stamina and tastes.I can't quite see the oft-noted parallels to David Lynch so much as Donnie Darko which seems more like kinfolk to Hukkle.
An eerie, nearly silent presentation of life in an anonymous Hungarian village caught between the timeless traditions of old and emerging new technology: this dichotomy is shown sensitively and in symbiotic relationship: the new technology seems to enhance rather than destroy or clash with traditional social mores.
Whilst none of the characters ever ostensibly talk, there is always a background buzz of everyday sounds which paint a fulsome audio picture of village life, as it unfolds through the goalposts of every human existence: birth, childhood, wedding and death: all sequences which are portrayed sympathetically with respect to the local meme..
A day in the life of a Hungarian town told by incredible cinematography and acute sound.
A day in the life of a Hungarian town told by incredible cinematography and acute sound.
This dark yet funny film at first glance seems to be just a series of random events linked together by smooth camera transitions.
"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.
It truly is amazing to watch and listen to a movie like this.
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.
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.
This strange and wonderful Hungarian film was shown at the Seattle International Film Festive this year (2003).
The film is told without words.
Like a David Lynch film something seems to be going on as a mesmerizing murder mystery is slowly revealed.
Even the film's official website is unique.
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.
You need to be very observant of what's going on in each scene especially the glances given by people.
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.
At first it was hard to get in to the world of Hukkle but by the end I didn't want this film to be over.
It is one of the slowest films I have ever seen yet it kept my attention.
Original, innovative, beautiful and at times shocking, or jarring.Enjoyably avant-Garde, and highly recommended for any true film lover.
There is no true plot or story, but yet we see vague glimpses and hints into the lives of the people of this small town.
So whether you are a techno image geek or in it for a good story Hukkle will probably have something for you..
Apparently a lot of people consider this film "art" and thought it was worth praising.
Dreary and depressing shots of countryside, and boring people doing nothing (namely, an old man with a creepy smirk by the side of the road hiccuping non-stop throughout the entire film - which I personally could hardly tolerate.
I sat through this film hoping that something would develop any second, and then it ended.
The life of a small and poor Transdanubian village is presented in "the movie of noises".
The story ends with the desperate expression of the local policeman who - although he is aware of all this - cannot decide what to do as practically all women (including his mother) is involved in the murders.This is indeed a very strong movie, especially if you consider that it is the debut of a young director.
I am not sure that the extreme story (the series of the murders) is really in place, perhaps a simpler, more down-to-earth story would have been a better choice, although I accept that the contrast of the dark and shocking story and the idyllic pictures adds extra and needed spice to the film.In summary, this is in the "must" category.
This was an interesting movie until the director thought it necessary to kill animals.
It began with an interesting reliance on sound without dialogue.
It seemed like this film would continue in the vein of Bela Tarr and other Hungarian directors.
Not a new idea: Bunuel abused animals in some of his films, and a neo-realist Italian film whose name escapes me showed villagers torturing a pig as the director filmed it as an amoral and passive journalist.
This film goes even further though.
The director actually has at least one animal poisoned for the sake of a large;y absent plot line.