The Man from London
Agnes Hranitzky, Béla Tarr / HU, FR, DE, 2007 / 135 min.
A subdued adaptation of George Simenon’s titular crime novel of 1933, shot in magnificent black and white. A sullen security guard witnesses a murder and finds a suitcase filled with money. A moral dilemma ensues. Featuring Tilda Swinton.
In a port city, railway worker Maloin is given a suitcase full of money. Then a police inspector from London arrives and Maloin throws all his morals overboard. This simmering crime story is carried to sublime abstraction by Tarr’s characteristic, sombre camerawork. Tilda Swinton proves perfectly at home as the signal operator’s wife, in this dark universe from a Hungarian director known for his stylistically unique films.
Pre-film
Before The Man from London, you’ll see a 4-minute clip from the American short film Wonders of the Sea by John Ernest Williamson (1922), where divers come face to face with tragedy and danger during a deep-sea exploration. Tilda Swinton hand-picked a short film, either from her rich oeuvre or from Eye’s collection, to precede all feature films.
This is part of
Special screenings
Details
Director
Agnes Hranitzky, Béla Tarr
Production year
2007
Country
HU, FR, DE
Original title
Der Mann aus London
Length
135 min.
Language
Hungarian
Subtitles
ENG
Format
35mm
Part of
Tilda Swinton
This autumn, Eye presents Tilda Swinton – Ongoing, an exclusive exhibition dedicated to the celebrated Scottish performer, artist, and fashion icon. This unique and personal exhibition centres on Swinton’s creative collaborations.
Why in Eye
WhenI watched the rushes of a scene when the camera - rehearsed all day - tracks through the winding streets following the back of a head, round houses and negotiating corners and passers by, finally comes to the harbour where, just as it pans round to take in the wharf, a wave slaps up against the wall with a great spray of spume into the air, and I say to myself, with absolute conviction ‘I wonder how he did that’. Such is the mystical power of Béla Tarr. He allows you to believe that he - that cinema - makes the world go round.
Tilda Swinton
Actor and Performer
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