Werckmeister Harmonies

Werckmeister Harmonies

June 1, 2026
A film from an early supporter of Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair.

Details About the Film

This film is part of the series Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair

Adapted from a novel by the celebrated Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai, Werckmeister Harmonies takes place in an unknown time and an unknown place, where one day, a mysterious circus with a giant stuffed whale and a shadowy, cult-like figure known as the Prince arrives disrupting the daily rhythms of the local populace. Gripped by some sort of madness, the citizens build into a violent fervor towards the circus, forever altering a naive young man’s sense of his hometown. Master of slow cinema Béla Tarr in collaboration with his spouse Ágnes Hranitzky builds a hauntingly black-and-white picture of dread and fantasy.

Presented By

Presented in partnership with

American Cinematheque

 

Director(s): Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky
Starring: Lars Rudolph, Peter Fitz, Hanna Schygulla, Tamás Wichmann
Year Released: 2000
Runtime: 145 minutes
Country: Hungary
Language(s): Hungarian with English subtitles
Content Warning(s): Extreme Violence
Accessibility Options: ListenTech (Hearing Impaired / Personal Amplified Audio Receiver w/optional T-Coil loop)
chevron-down