Irish Film Institute -Hukkle

Hukkle

Director: Gyorhy Palfi

2002.Colour.77 mins.


One of the most original and critically acclaimed Hungarian films of recent years,Gyorhy Palfi ‘s Hukkle is an authentic one-off that ‘s been described as a cross between Microcosmos and Twin Peaks .It starts out as a serene,naturalistic portrait of rural life,but it slowly morphs into something much more sinister as apparently disconnected scenes lead into a murder investigation whose key events unfold in the background and on the margins of every shot.Filmed entirely without dialogue, the result is an oddball mix of deadpan comedy, documentary and cunning thriller.One of a new generation of young Hungarian filmmakers to emerge under the tutelage of the late producer-director Sandor Simo,Palfi explains that his film was inspired by those trompe l ‘oeil pictures which depict different objects depending on how or which way up you look at them.
Structured as a cinematic game or puzzle whose mysteries the audience have to unravel for itself, Hukkle is a delightful riddle. The title,which is pronounced ‘hoo-kleh ‘ in Hungarian, is an invented,onomatopoetic word,mimicking the rhythmic hiccoughing of one of the film ‘s characters.

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