It feels strange to be encountering something like this when it’s so freezing out – picturing people in the Hungarian countryside waiting for what is presented as either a spectacular show or possibly a taxidermist’s worst dream. A massive whale appears and many of those present are left wondering how to interpret it. The unusual sight draws visitors from far away, and their presence begins to create tension within t…

Béla Tarr’s 2000 film *The Werckmeister Harmonies* centers on unsettling occurrences within a small community located on Hungary's eastern plains. The movie begins with a scene where János, a man of limited intellect, shows a group of inebriated patrons how the Earth and moon orbit the sun, using three elderly men to illustrate his point. Afterward, he continues his route early that morning. Announcements posted arou…