The Turin Horse

The Turin Horse is a 2011 Hungarian drama film directed by Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky, starring János Derzsi, Erika Bók and Mihály Kormos. It was co-written by Tarr and his frequent collaborator László Krasznahorkai. It recalls the whipping of a horse in the Italian city of Turin that is rumoured to have caused the mental breakdown of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The film is in black-and-white, shot in only 30 long takes by Tarr's regular cameraman Fred Kelemen, and depicts the repetitive daily lives of the horse-owner and his daughter. The film was an international co-production led by the Hungarian company T. T. Filmműhely. Tarr announced then that it was to be his last film. After having been postponed several times, it premiered in 2011 at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, where it received the Jury Grand Prix. The Hungarian release was postponed after the director had criticised the country's government in an interview. The Turin Horse opened to general acclaim from film critics. Plot The film begins with a likely apocryphal story about German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's mental breakdown on 3 January 1889 when he stayed at number six, Via Carlo Alberto, Turin, Italy. There, a coach driver was having trouble with a stubborn horse. The horse refused to move, whereupon the driver lost his temper and took his whip to it. Nietzsche was greatly disturbed and threw his arms around the horse's neck, sobbing. His neighbor took him home, where lay motionless and silent for two days on a divan, until he muttered the words "Mutter, ich bin dumm". He lived for another ten years, gentle and demented, in the care of his mother and sisters.