Despite this slow burning revenge film throwing up a powerhouse performance and showcasing the talent of a debutant director, Katalin Varga fails to move the audience the way it tries desperately to.
Katalin Varga opens halfway through the film: some sinister-looking men are searching for a woman and a boy, asking questions from the audience - why do they want them? What have they done? Before those questions can be answered, director Strickland then flashes back to a small rural Romanian village where Katalin's (Peter) secret has been outed. We're not privy to what the secret is but her husband accuses her of being a whore and wishes her gone, and to take her boy Orban (Tanko) with her. Determined to make things right, Katalin takes to the road with Orban, searching for the two men who have ruined her life. With the 'cops' closing in that mission becomes ever more precarious with each step.
First time writer-director Peter Strickland shows a confidence that belies his experience. He isn't concerned with flashy camera techniques, injecting his revenge film with unneeded violence or action sequences to keep attention high and believes his traumatic story will keep an audience rooted despite the laboured pacing. The pacing, however laboured, gives Strickland a chance to show off his talented eye - the film is dosed with some beautiful imagery of the Romanian countryside, an area that looks untouched for centuries. He also, in one scene, showcases an ear for snappy dialogue.
But Katalin Varga is never as engaging as it should be, and this is down to keeping the viewer in the dark with regards Varga's motivation for so long. Varga is the strong, silent type. She gives little away, hiding what she's feeling behind cold eyes. Since her only interaction is with her son (whom she has to lie to), and people whom she begs for a night in their sheds and backrooms, (people she, too, has to lie to), we never really get to know her. The fact that Peter's performance shines through despite having to work with this tough character is testament to itself. She's joined by the only other adult performance worthy of note - Tibor Palffy, who plays one of the men she's hunting.
