Hukkle

Cast

Plot

The story takes place in an ordinary village in Hungary. It begins with an old man who has hiccups, and takes place in front of his house near a can of milk. He observes the daily habits of the villagers, and the viewer is shown many sequences about different events: A young man drives his horse and cart filled with milk cans. Normally he would clean the cans, but he's distracted by a girl sitting in the sun. A threshing-machine is harvesting. A cat becomes poisoned and eventually dies. A mole is killed by an old lady ploughing the ground and she gives the mole to her dog. A farmer takes his pig to a sow for fertilization and the two owners watch with satisfaction when the pigs copulate. The men of the village bowl to kill time. The old man is still having hiccups.

The village seems idyllic, but there are mysterious things happening. During these events, there are sequences about women trading bottles with unknown liquids. From time to time a man dies and the collective village walks up with a chest and comforts the widow. The postwoman also shows up from time to time and gives the widow her dead mother's pension. It all seems harmless and normal life continues after the burials. When a fisherman disappears, a local policeman is determined to find out what happened to the fisherman and eventually finds out at the end when he sees the mailman appear with a package for the widow.

With (almost) no dialogue in the movie, it seems the events around the villagers, animals, and plants have no meaning. However, at the end of the movie there is a wedding where some girls sing an old folksong which reveals the murder-mystery.

Acquired