Fliegauf goes on psychedelic Milky Way trip
Fans of the new generation of Hungarian filmmakers are in for a pleasant surprise, as one of its most talented directors, Benedek Fliegauf, has made his third feature. Milky Way, filmed behind closed doors from autumn 2006 to winter 2007, is now in post-production.
The 32 year-old Hungarian director, behind the acclaimed Forest and the multi-awardwinning Dealer, had to postpone the making of his fantasy film project, Fairy Ring (see news), due to difficulties in assembling financing and started to work instead on Milky Way, a film about ambient music as explored by Brian Eno, which has been described as psychedelic.
Combining a range of styles, this genre – which began with French composer Eric Satie and includes such well-known artists as Robert Rich, Brian Lustmord and The Dead Texan – aims to incorporate various styles of and approaches to the music without enforcing one in particular.
In an effort to adapt this trend for cinema, Fliegauf sought to make Milky Way a sort of multi-layered metaphysical and hypnotic trip, while allowing significant room for interpretation.
The real character of the film is not a person, but a planet: Earth. Or, in other words, a galaxy of humanity: the Milky Way. Minimalist long shots depict the actions of the actors as if they were seen objectively from the exterior as eternal beings.
Made up of several episodes unified by the same style and atmosphere, Milky Way uses the theme of mystery as a narrative link, a mercurial mystery that goes from the banal to the divine, from the psychological to the natural and the micro-realist. This vast array of emotions gives "an orbital point of view allowing us to see the place where we live as it really is: a planet in an infinite space. There are no towns, no countryside and no political conflicts in the film, only biosphere, timeless landscapes, and these strange and mysterious beings in us – ourselves,” says Filegauf.
The film was written by Fliegauf, who also wrote the score with Raptors’ Kollektiva. Like the director’s previous films, Milky Way was produced by András Muhi for Inforg Stúdió.
The film stars the two leads of Dealer (Felícián Keresztes and Barbara Thurzó), as well as László Benedek and János Breckl.
(Translated from French)
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
