White God (Hungary/Germany/Sweden, 2014)
Hungarian writer-director Kornél Mundruczó jacks up the story of a lost pet’s journey home, usually the stuff of children’s films, into a take-no-prisoners thriller that puts some serious bite into the age old question: Who’s more human, us or them? When her mother leaves for a conference, Lili (Zsófia Psotta) must stay with her estranged father (Sándor Zsótér), who takes an immediate dislike to Lili’s dog Hagen. After dad puts the mutt out on the street, Hagen experiences a series of dark, violent encounters with people while Lili desperately searches for him. Eventually thrown into a harsh city kennel, Hagen reaches the end of his leash, rises up and leads a vengeful canine rebellion through the streets of Budapest.

DCP, color, in Hungarian with English subtitles, 121 min. Director: Kornél Mundruczó. Producers: Eszter Gyárfás, Viktória Petrányi. Screenwriter: Kornél Mundruczó, Viktória Petrányi, Kata Wéber. Cinematographer: Marcell Rév. Editor: Dávid Jancsó. Cast: Zsófia Psotta, Sándor Zsótér, Lili Horváth, Szabolcs Thuróczy, Lili Monori.

Purchase tickets for this screening here.

In collaboration with the Getty Center, UCLA Film & Television Archive and the UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies have partnered this year to present a quarterly, interdisciplinary festival of film and music that explores European culture, politics and society through the prism of four themes: Animals, Food, Music and Architecture/Landscape. Every calendar, the Archive will a devote a weekend of screenings to films by European and Russian filmmakers that explore these themes in compelling ways. A noted expert in a related field of study will be invited to respond during post-screening conversations.

We launch this initiative February 23-25, 2018 with three films centered around animals: Robert Bresson’s Au hasard Balthazar (France, 1966), Kornél Mundruczó’s White God (Hungary/Germany/Sweden, 2014) and Vladimir Bortko’s Heart of a Dog (Soviet Union, 1988). Philosopher and ethologist Vinciane Despret, professor at the University of Liège, Belgium, will join us at each screening to discuss the films. A leading voice in the emerging field of scientific humanities, Despret, in her latest book, What Would Animals Say If We Asked the Right Questions? (University of Minnesota Press, 2016), challenges with humor and insight the received scientific and anecdotal wisdom about animal behavior and agency.

These screenings take place in conjunction with a lecture-concert at the Getty Center on Saturday, February 24 at 7:30 p.m., featuring a presentation by Laure Murat and performances of works by Rimsky-Korsakov, Fauré, Rameau, Rossini, Cage, Gershwin, and others. The program also features the first U.S. appearance of Vincent Penot, clarinetist of the Opéra de Paris, who performs three pieces on the program. For more information and ticketing, please click here.

Sponsor(s): Center for European and Russian Studies, Hammer Museum at UCLA, Film and Television Archive