Hukkle (2002)

100% of critics liked it
(31 reviews)
82% of users liked it
(1,211 ratings)

Hukkle, named for the sound of an old man's hiccups, which recur throughout the film, is a nearly wordless aural and visual exploration of life in a depressed Hungarian town. Director György Pálfi uses extreme close-ups and slow motion to look at both human and natural life in the town. As the film… More Hukkle, named for the sound of an old man's hiccups, which recur throughout the film, is a nearly wordless aural and visual exploration of life in a depressed Hungarian town. Director György Pálfi uses extreme close-ups and slow motion to look at both human and natural life in the town. As the film progresses, a few narrative threads emerge. A cart driver spies on a young shepherd girl. A man and woman proudly watch as their prize hogs mate. The farming and manufacturing work of the town continues. The women seem to work harder than the men. An old woman prepares a meal for her family. A cat and a little girl die soon after eating from the same dish. A beekeeper crushes a bee between his fingers. A mole catches and eats a worm, only to be slaughtered by a gardener's hoe. As a murder mystery slowly unravels, a policeman contemplates taking action, though he knows it will rock the town to its foundations. Hukkle was shown at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival and at the 2003 edition of New Directors/New Films. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 17 min.
Directed By: György Pálfi
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Jan 1, 2001 Wide
On DVD: Jul 26, 2005

Critic Reviews

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
It's a novelty, and an educational one at that. It reminds you of just how dumb your average movie is these days.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
Unclassifiable and wildly original.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
So precisely and hypnotically assembled it could have been directed by a particularly whimsical metronome.
G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
What film is all about, but all too often isn't -- it challenges its audience to look at the world in a different way.
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
At once impressive and indulgent, hypnotic and patience-inducing with its languorous rhythms.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Hypnotic, elliptical, often rapturously beautiful, the film is a testament to the much-maligned concept of art cinema, one that depends for its thrills on film's essentials as a visual and sonic medium.
Boyd van Hoeij, european-films.net
Some of the things encountered in Hukkle are brilliant cinematic conceits, which the director properly builds up to their punchline.
Bill Gibron, PopMatters
Sparkling and thought-provoking, Hukkle is the cinematic equivalent of a puzzle box wrapped up in ethnic enigmas and rural riddles.
Steve Schneider, Orlando Weekly
The movie is an enriching, lovingly filmed exercise in disorientation, worth seeing more than once if you've got the time, money and patience.
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
Gyorgy Palfi shows an incredibly deft hand in creating a fictional story that...you could enjoy as a slice of life in rural Hungary
Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews
There are so many odd references tucked into "Hukkle" it becomes a complex puzzle masquerading as a simple tale which may require multiple viewings.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Packs more bizarre ideas into its 75 minutes than most films do with two hours.
Jon Popick, Planet Sick-Boy
Daring and unusual.
Joshua Tanzer, Offoffoff
Kind of like Koyaanisqatsi without an agenda.
Harry Haun, Film Journal International
The picture is so completely detailed and precise in its depiction of pastoral beauty that, if you blink, you might well minimize--or miss--the murder that gradually darkens the story.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Walter M

In the beginning, there was the hiccup... That is a very small disruption to the natural order in "Hukkle" in a small farming village where there is a long standing relationship between the humans who work hard for what they have and the animals which they care for and… More
In the beginning, there was the hiccup... That is a very small disruption to the natural order in "Hukkle" in a small farming village where there is a long standing relationship between the humans who work hard for what they have and the animals which they care for and occasionally become lunch. The largest disruption is also the money shot of the film. Aside from that, the film is pretty much minimalist in observing the day-to-day details except for one sequence that cuts from a man eating to an-x-ray of him to a doctor's office.

Cast

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Hukkle (2002)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Walter M

Cast

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