Comparative Cinematics : Jancsó & Tarr (Kevin B. Lee)

Keyframe: Mapping the Long Take (Tarr Béla, Jancsó Miklós) 5'49"
By Kevin B. Lee from Fandor

[..] Comparing this one shot from The Turin Horse (2011) with the one that we just watched [The Red and The White], you can see how Bela Tarr‘s use of the long take both incorporates and rejects different elements of Jancso’s camerawork. Here the camera is less active and elaborate, and the staging is less busy. Instead, there’s a greater emphasis on physicality. [..] The moments where the camera is static let us focus on the material, tactile qualities of the visuals: stone, wood and dirt. [..]
Bela Tarr uses [long take] to convey the palpable sensations of a lived experience, one of harsh, grueling exertion. Like the Jancso scene, there’s a pendulum-like rhythm to the camera movement as it moves back and both between two poles of activity. Like Jancso, though to a lesser degree, Tarr is able to use off-screen space to economize activity: Notice how by the time the camera returns to the house, the woman has almost finished packing the wagon. [..]

Related :

• Intersections: The Sacrifice and The Turin Horse (Ian Miller; Fandor; 4 Sept 2012) 
• Average Shot Length /  Average shot Length in CCC