Movies
An old favorite that lost a little of its original shine. I'm not too surprised, as I watched Werckmeister Harmonies very early on in my discovery of arthouse cinema. The stark black-and-white cinematography and the remarkable score are clear pluses here, but the setting was a bit too dire for my taste.
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Tarr serves arthouse poverty porn with a layer of fantasy and a nicer finish. While I appreciated the presentation, I've seen better over the years, so it didn't quite drown out the negatives as it used to. The slow pacing and lengthy runtime were a bit of a bother too, but there's still plenty to love here. It just wasn't as overwhelming as I remembered it to be.
Tarr slows things down even more, so beware all those who come for narratives, characters, and/or plot twists. This is slow cinema pur sang, so it's a good thing Tarr is a proper stylist, otherwise I would've suffered too. But even though the characters and setting didn't appeal to me at all, the mood of the film still got to me.
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The black-and-white cinematography was nice and gritty, very capable, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I cared more for the score and soundscapes, which really added to the atmosphere. 150+ minutes was a bit excessive, and I can't say I found it a very memorable film, but there were moments of brilliance here.
Visions of Europe
I like a good anthology, but when there are too many directors and the project is a little too vague or open-ended, it's difficult to turn it into something coherent (not just a random bunch of shorts bunched together). Visions of Europe is a miss in that regard, but it's still worth checking out.
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There are some pretty familiar and respected names (Tarr, Boe, Greenaway), but most of the directors are pretty niche and have limited appeal outside of their bubbles. There's a handful of memorable shorts, the rest is pretty forgettable, but it's at least quite varied and the shorts are well short, so it never gets too dull.