Electra, My Love

Reminiscent of the latter works of Bela Tarr, Miklos Jancso’s “Beloved Electra” is comprised of a series of extremely slow and extremely long takes (there are just eight principal shots, each lasting an entire reel of film).

More contemplative music video than conventional film, “Beloved Electra” is based on “Oresteia”, a Greek myth written by Aeschylus, an ancient tragedian. The film stars Mari Toriocsik as Electra, a tortured woman who serves as a kind of metaphor for the people of Hungary and their historic suffering. She roams Jancso’s landscape with a melancholic face, angry at Aegisztosz for conspiring with her mother to kill Agamemnon, her father.