Review by zetes

Not that I loved it or anything. It's still rooted in the clichés of socialist realism and it has long, repetitive scenes of people chattering on. But I connected with this one pretty well. The main character, András, is a talented but unambitious musician. He plays the violin exceptionally well, but doesn't think he could make a living at it because he's not classically trained. Instead, he wastes his life away at a factory in a small town; he only works there because he has to support his illegitimate son. The film's best scenes all involve music, which is also true of the other two Facets releases, The Prefab People and Family Nest (though those two used music much more sparingly than The Outsider). Music seems to hold a special place in Tarr's work, or at least these early works. I wouldn't especially recommend any of these three films. You might want to wait until Satantango or The Werckmeister Harmonies – both of which sound much more interesting – eventually make their way to DVD. If you have seen those films and are looking into the development of this artist, these films are worthwhile enough.