00:34The whale’s symbolism and why it can provoke a riot.

03:28The differing East European settings of novel and film.

08:37Composer Mihály Víg’s crucial role.

09:18Ágnes Hranitzky was more than an editor.

10:35Krasznahorkai’s two decisive influences on Béla Tarr.

14:20How should we understand the fractured plot?

15:44Film scholar András Bálint Kovács’s system of metaphors.

18:01Understanding the film through musical variation.

20:20How should we read its opening shot?

 

Lao Ma: In the Bible, the whale evokes Leviathan, a divine power beyond human understanding. For the protagonist it is proof of God, a material form of natural law, and an immensity beyond human comprehension.

Ah Wu: The whale symbolizes the decay of cosmic order.

Lao Ma: Hungary’s change of political system made Béla Tarr’s nihilism more complete.

Ah Wu: The old man’s body makes them realize the apocalyptic crisis is inescapable, just as the human body inevitably ages. That is the natural order of the universe.