Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
Director
György Pálfi
Cast
Ferec Bandi,
Józsefné Rácz,
Ági Margitai,
Eszter Ónodi
Genre
Crime,
Drama,
Mystery
Using almost no dialogue, the film follows a number of residents (both human and animal) of a small rural community in Hungary—an old man with hiccups, a shepherdess and her sheep, an old woman who may or may not be up to no good, some folk-singers at a wedding. A series of vignettes investigating this community uncovers the sublet of a murder.
Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea
A beautiful eyeful of puckish whimsy and dark-humored mystery, Hukkle (it means hiccup in Hungarian) is a little gem in which nature and humankind commingle, where coincidence and causality collide in a chain of odd, even murderous, events.
Variety by Derek Elley
A true original…Beautifully shot, full of droll humor and at 77 minutes never overstaying its welcome.
The A.V. Club by Scott Tobias
More than a slight, pleasant oddity, Hukkle shows Pálfi's keen attunement to the sensual possibilities, both in nature and in cinema.
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
It works just fine as a sophisticated wildlife documentary with a submerged narrative. But if you enjoy the challenge of solving difficult mysteries, Hukkle presents a tantalizing case waiting to be cracked.
Film Threat by Eric Campos
I love a nice, quiet film. It’s so relaxing and such a nice break from the flashy multiplex fare. I love watching films that you can let just wash over you. The Hungarian film Hukkle provides that comfort, while at the same time coming up with an inventive way to tell a story.
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
Hovering between vivid countryside documentary and understated melodrama, this almost wordless film is a unique excursion into fascinating territory.
Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington
A film driven by an elusive plot buried like a cryptogram under the action. It's a delightfully screwy ethnographic murder mystery, beautifully photographed in translucent naturalistic color.
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
The film is told almost entirely without dialogue, but is alive to sound; we spend observant, introspective hours in a Hungarian hamlet where nothing much seems to happen -- oh, except that there's a suspicious death.
Village Voice by J. Hoberman
Deranging a venerable Hungarian tradition of "village sociology," Pálfi employs a bizarrely associative montage to fashion a portrait of a traditional peasant community -- just a midsummer Sunday on Mars.
Chicago Reader
Told almost entirely without words and composed largely of detail shots, Hukkle doesn't quite transcend the gimmickry of its concept, but it succeeds as a bravura technical exercise with some truly amazing images.
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