The Turin Horse
A dying horse and an isolated farmer's household become the austere center of a devastating meditation on exhaustion, mortality, and the collapse of meaning.
Overview
A haunting exploration of existence and mortality through the lens of a dying horse and its struggling owners.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Glacial
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- bleak
- austere
- contemplative
- serious solitary viewing
- arthouse film study
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as an uncompromisingly bold, hauntingly beautiful, and formally masterful existential parable, while acknowledging its severe pace and minimal narrative information.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Long takes dwell on dressing, eating potatoes, drawing water, chopping wood, and tending the horse.
The farm, windblown landscape, and human figures are rendered in austere black-and-white cinematography.
The horse's physical decline and the family's collapsing livelihood become a bleak parable of exhaustion and mortality.
The film is Béla Tarr's final work and exemplifies his long-take, contemplative Hungarian arthouse practice.
Films like The Turin Horse, and why
Sátántangó
shared slow cinema discipline, austere rural isolation, and existential despair
Stalker
shared contemplative pacing, metaphysical austerity, and stark black-and-white visual design
The Woman in the Dunes
shared minimalist storytelling, elemental hardship, and rigorous formal restraint
Winter Light
shared bleak existentialism, sparse rural setting, and oppressive atmosphere
Movie Details
- Director
- Béla Tarr
- Release Date
- 2011-03-31
- Runtime
- 155 min
- Rating
- 7.6 / 10 (437)
Cast
- János Derzsi
- Erika Bók
- Mihály Kormos
- Lajos Kovács
- Mihály Ráday
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Apple TV Store
- Buy
- Apple TV Store
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Turin Horse about?
- A dying horse and an isolated farmer's household become the austere center of a devastating meditation on exhaustion, mortality, and the collapse of meaning.
- What is The Turin Horse like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Turin Horse as glacial, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Turin Horse violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Turin Horse as mild.
- What did critics think of The Turin Horse?
- Critics broadly regard the film as an uncompromisingly bold, hauntingly beautiful, and formally masterful existential parable, while acknowledging its severe pace and minimal narrative information.
- Which films are like The Turin Horse?
- Films with a similar feel include Sátántangó, Stalker, The Woman in the Dunes, and Winter Light.
- How long is The Turin Horse?
- The Turin Horse runs 155 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Turin Horse?
- In United States, The Turin Horse is available to rent or buy from Apple TV Store.
