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Hukkle
Home Vision Entertainment // Unrated // July 26, 2005
List Price: $29.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie
The tag line on the front of HVE's new DVD release of Hukkle proclaims the film "A Bizarre Murder Mystery". While that is true in one sense it is also quite misleading. Hukkle is really a film about observing the quiet, simple, overlooked things in life; an ode to rural living.
The film unfolds without dialogue, following an old man with hiccups as he sets about his morning routine and sits outside on a bench to watch the world in motion around him, happily hiccupping away throughout. The camera moves to track the things that capture the old man's attention and, from time to time, will follow another village resident away as they pass in front of the old man's bench, but the man himself remains the focus that the film always returns to.
Not a film that you approach if you're looking for a lot of plot or action Hukkle is filled with beautiful imagery and a quiet, steady rhythm. It's a lyrical film that delights in pointing out just how many beautiful things we miss by constantly hurrying from place to place.
The DVD
Video
The video quality is a little hard to peg not having ever seen the film projected. Hukkle has that soft look common to films much older than this, or film shot on aged stock. Given the subject matter it's perfectly possible that this was a deliberate choice on the part of the film makers but it also may point to a weakness in the transfer. But the print is clean and video quality good on all other fronts. It is, as expected from HVE, 16:9 anamorphic.
Audio
The film is presented both in the original stereo mix and in 5.1 surround. Sound plays an immensely important role in this film and both mixes are clean and crisp with good seperation.
Extras
The range of extras is solid if unspectacular. You get a subtitled commentary track with the director and cinematographer largely discussin technical challenges and the way they set up certain shots. There are slightly over ten minutes of pre-production test footage, excerpts from the production notes, the trailer, and - in the booklet - an essay by Andrew Horton of Kinoeye. The best of the extras, however, is labelled a 'making of' but would more accurately be labelled a video diary: a half hour of loose, informal footage shot behind the scenes during the film's production. This is where you get the best feel for the film makers as you get to listen to them chatter candidly behind the scenes.
Final Thoughts
It is strictly for the art house crowd and will try the patience of the MTV generation but Hukkle is a solid film, well presented. Worth a look for a change of pace.
The tag line on the front of HVE's new DVD release of Hukkle proclaims the film "A Bizarre Murder Mystery". While that is true in one sense it is also quite misleading. Hukkle is really a film about observing the quiet, simple, overlooked things in life; an ode to rural living.
The film unfolds without dialogue, following an old man with hiccups as he sets about his morning routine and sits outside on a bench to watch the world in motion around him, happily hiccupping away throughout. The camera moves to track the things that capture the old man's attention and, from time to time, will follow another village resident away as they pass in front of the old man's bench, but the man himself remains the focus that the film always returns to.
Not a film that you approach if you're looking for a lot of plot or action Hukkle is filled with beautiful imagery and a quiet, steady rhythm. It's a lyrical film that delights in pointing out just how many beautiful things we miss by constantly hurrying from place to place.
The DVD
Video
The video quality is a little hard to peg not having ever seen the film projected. Hukkle has that soft look common to films much older than this, or film shot on aged stock. Given the subject matter it's perfectly possible that this was a deliberate choice on the part of the film makers but it also may point to a weakness in the transfer. But the print is clean and video quality good on all other fronts. It is, as expected from HVE, 16:9 anamorphic.
Audio
The film is presented both in the original stereo mix and in 5.1 surround. Sound plays an immensely important role in this film and both mixes are clean and crisp with good seperation.
Extras
The range of extras is solid if unspectacular. You get a subtitled commentary track with the director and cinematographer largely discussin technical challenges and the way they set up certain shots. There are slightly over ten minutes of pre-production test footage, excerpts from the production notes, the trailer, and - in the booklet - an essay by Andrew Horton of Kinoeye. The best of the extras, however, is labelled a 'making of' but would more accurately be labelled a video diary: a half hour of loose, informal footage shot behind the scenes during the film's production. This is where you get the best feel for the film makers as you get to listen to them chatter candidly behind the scenes.
Final Thoughts
It is strictly for the art house crowd and will try the patience of the MTV generation but Hukkle is a solid film, well presented. Worth a look for a change of pace.
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