The Man From London

Adapted from a little-known novel by Georges Simenon (creator of Maigret), Béla Tarr’s first film since Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) has resembled in its slow evolution the long takes for which the auteur is famous. After one of these, a long, slow pan up the prow of a ship at night, we see Maloin, a switchman at a railway station situated by a ferry harbour, watching the arrival of the last ferry, perched in his control room on high, from where he can see the whole bay. What ensues depicts the moral restlessness that grips a man after witnessing a shocking event. Spot Tilda Swinton in the role of his wife, and be prepared to let Tarr’s vision, his eerie music and prowling camera wash over you…

Palme d’Or nominated, Cannes 2007.