The Cinema Guild Acquires Bela Tarr's "The Turin Horse"

The following is a press release I received this morning about one of my favorite living filmmakers, Bela Tarr. I'm particularly dismayed by the news that this latest film will be his last. Let's hope that Tarr is just making waves. But I am happy to see that this film will get distribution, unlike Tarr's last film The Man from London; even with Tilda Swinton in it, it only played a few festival dates (although it is now available on iTunes). I look forward to this next one...

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New York, NY —The Cinema Guild announced today the acquisition of U.S. distribution rights to Bela Tarr's apocalyptic masterpiece The Turin Horse. The deal was negotiated by Ryan Krivoshey of The Cinema Guild with Jean-Christophe Simon of Films Boutique. The film will be released theatrically this winter.

On January 3, 1889 in Turin, Italy, Friedrich Nietzsche steps out of the doorway of number six, Via Carlo Albert. Not far from him, the driver of a hansom cab is having trouble with a stubborn horse. Despite all his urging, the horse refuses to move, whereupon the driver loses his patience and takes his whip to it. Nietzsche comes up to the throng and puts an end to the brutal scene, throwing his arms around the horse’s neck, sobbing. His landlord takes him home, where he lies motionless and silent for two days on a divan until he mutters the obligatory last words, and lives for another ten years, silent and demented, cared for by his mother and sisters. Somewhere in the countryside, the driver of the hansom cab lives with his daughter and the horse. Outside, a windstorm rages.

Widely considered one of the most important filmmakers in world cinema, Bela Tarr's films include  Almanac of the Fall (1985), Damnation (1988), Sátántangó (1994), Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) and The Man from London (2007). He has said The Turin Horse (2011) will be his last film.

"Easily one of the most mesmerizing and singular visions ever put on film, The Turin Horse is unlike anything else in theaters," commented Ryan Krivoshey. "We're honored to be working with Bela Tarr, especially on what will be the release of his last film."

The Cinema Guild is a distributor of independent, foreign and documentary films. Upcoming releases include Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz's The Interrupters, Cristi Puiu's Aurora and Vadim Jendreyko's The Woman with the Five Elephants.