Katalin Varga

2009

1h 22m

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

List

95%

Tomatometer

21 Reviews

72%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

Katalin Varga is cast out of her home when her husband discovers that her son Orban is not his. Taking Orban with her, Katalin sets out on a long journey to track down and punish the men who raped her 11 years earlier.

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Stuart McGurk

Times (UK)

Impressive as it is, though, you can't help feeling it's essentially a festival favourite that will be more admired than enjoyed.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 16, 2009

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Derek Malcolm

London Evening Standard

Like a folk tale crossed with a thriller and road movie. Without a doubt it is one of the best new British films of the year, if you can justly call it fully British.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 16, 2009

Full Review

David Parkinson

Empire Magazine

Superb central performances in this tragic drama.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 9, 2009

Full Review

Jason Best

Movie Talk

The film's timelessness... gives the story a mythic simplicity and power.

Nov 28, 2020

Full Review

Pamela Jahn

Electric Sheep

... Katalin Varga often hits a note of genuine otherworldliness, and the power of this slow-burning, nightmarish tale is utterly compelling...

Sep 27, 2017

Full Review

Joseph Proimakis

Movies for the Masses

click to read full review

Rated: 3/5

Mar 26, 2010

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Demimonde M

Startlingly good film with amazing cinematography and a compelling soundtrack. I watched it twice.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/16/22

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Audience Member

Una historia fuerte y bastante deprimente. Es interesante todo lo que va pasando pero a medida que caes en la cuenta te asusta. Muy recomendable

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A pretty unknown film that I randomly stumbled over. The plot seemed cool - a rape victim and her child takes a trip around Romania to get their revenge. The story is solved quite easily and it seem like no problem to hunt down people even with a horse carriage as choise of vehicle. The acting felt a bit weak, but it's hard to tell since the language is very unheard by me. The sound mix is a very nice feature here, and sometimes the lightning is super as well. A poor film that could have been mistaken from an average 70's film if it wasn't for the great sound editing.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This ain't like your average revenge movie, don't expect the victim of the tale to toughen up and roam the land kicking ass. It's a slow burner where vengeance is sought after but never really satisfied and the ending is very grim. It's a well acted, absorbing and looks great but there is something about it that doesn't really satisfy.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This is a deliberately paced (slow?!) story about the ambiguities of revenge, morality and redemption. We learn in the first scenes that Katalin Varga's husband has just learned that their son is actually the product of a rape, and he casts her out with "your bastard son". The rest of the story only slowly unravels, as she takes her son on a pilgrimage(?) to something better... The cinematography is beautiful and compels the viewer's attention. Details are important and the dialogue sparse. The central performance is striking, and our sympathies shift subtly throughout the story. It often leaves us to make our own minds up about this, rather than forcing an agenda upon us. The final sequences are gripping and tense. Definitely not for everyone, but if you're at least vaguely into arthouse movies, this should be on your list.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Ãn en gÃ¥ng landskapen, vackert, hemskt och vardagligt.Den bÃ¤sta/originellaste rape and revenge rullen jag sett pÃ¥ Ã¥r och dag.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

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Peter Strickland

Director

Hilda Péter

Katalin Varga

Melinda Kántor

Etelka Borlan

Tibor Pálffy

Antal

Enikö Szabó

Zsuzsa

Peter Strickland

Screenwriter

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Synopsis

Katalin Varga is cast out of her home when her husband discovers that her son Orban is not his. Taking Orban with her, Katalin sets out on a long journey to track down and punish the men who raped her 11 years earlier.

Director: Peter Strickland
Screenwriter: Peter Strickland
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Romanian
Runtime: 1h 22m