Taxidermia

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|

2006 film

Taxidermia

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| György Pálfi
Written by|

* György Pálfi
* Zsófia Ruttkay

Based on| short stories
by Lajos Parti Nagy
Produced by|

* Péter Miskolczi
* Gábor Váradi

Starring|

* Csaba Czene
* Gergely Trócsányi
* Piroska Molnár
* Adél Stanczel

Cinematography| Gergely Pohárnok
Edited by| Réka Lemhényi
Music by| Amon Tobin

Production
companies

* Amour Fou Filmproduktion
* Eurofilm Stúdió
* Katapult Film
* La Cinéfacture
* Memento Films Production

Distributed by|

* Pool Filmverlieh (Austria)
* Memento Films (France)

Release dates

* 3 February 2006 (2006-02-03) (Hungarian Film Festival)
* 19 May 2006 (2006-05-19) (Cannes)
* 9 November 2006 (2006-11-09) (Hungary)

Running time

| 94 minutes[1]
Countries|

* Hungary
* Austria
* France

Languages|

* Hungarian
* English
* Russian

Budget| HUF 500 million[2]
(US$2.4 million)
Box office| $11,408 (US)[3]

Taxidermia is a 2006 surrealist body horror film directed and co-written by György Pálfi. An international co-production of Hungary, Austria and France, the film spins a metaphorical socio-political retelling of Hungary's history from the Second World War to the present day.[4]

With elements of dark comedy and body horror, the story is told by means of three generations of Hungarian men, commencing with a WWII military orderly, moving on to a Cold War-era aspiring speed-eater, and concluding with a modern-day taxidermist. It received positive reviews.

## Plot

[edit]

At a remote Hungarian military outpost, orderly Morosgoványi Vendel lives a wretched existence of servitude beneath the heel of his lieutenant, Öreg Balatony Kálmán. Condemned to performing menial duties for the officer and his family while sleeping in an unheated shack next to the latrines, Morosgoványi frequently escapes into fantasy. So realistic are these fantasies that in one ambiguous instance, Morosgoványi sleeps with and impregnates the lieutenant's wife and "wakes up" to find himself engaged in an act of sodomy with a slaughtered pig. Upon seeing this, the lieutenant promptly executes Morosgoványi and raises the son, Balatony Kálmán, as his own.

Decades later, Kálmán has grown into a champion Hungarian speed-eater. Coached and influenced by the strict Jenő, Kálmán's life revolves around training for the eventual day when the IOC recognizes speed-eating as a legitimate sport. After a bout of lockjaw at a Soviet event and eloping with fellow speed-eating champion Aczél Gizi, Kálmán resumes his rigorous training, even as Gizi gives birth to their son, Balatony Lajoska.

Some years later, Lajoska has grown into a dedicated, professional taxidermist. In contrast to both his parents' girth, Lajoska appears pale and impoverished, with a thin anemic frame and haunted visage. When not working from his taxidermy shop or failing in his attempts to lead a normal life, Lajoska purchases groceries for his father Kálmán, who has grown so monstrously obese that he cannot leave the chair in his claustrophobic apartment. Kálmán, who feeds butter to his caged cats, has nothing but harsh words for his son who, upon reaching his breaking point, abandons his father. Returning later, he discovers that the cats have escaped their cages and, desiring meat, have eviscerated his father.

Lajoska stuffs his father and the cats. With little left to live for, he locks himself in a homemade surgical harness and through the use of sedatives, painkillers and a heart-lung machine, begins removing his own internal organs. Pumping his body full of preservatives and sewing himself up, he activates the machine that decapitates him, leaving behind a preserved statue. His body is displayed in an exhibit alongside the cats and his father.

## Cast

[edit]

* Csaba Czene as Morosgoványi Vendel
* Gergely Trócsányi as Balatony Kálmán
* Piroska Molnár as Hadnagyné
* Adél Stanczel as Aczél Gizi
* Marc Bischoff as Balatony Lajoska
* István Gyuricza as Hadnagy
* Gábor Máté as Öreg Balatony Kálmán
* Zoltán Koppány as Miszlényi Béla
* Erwin Leder as Krisztián
* Éva Kuli as Leóna
* Lajos Parti Nagy as Dédnagypapa
* Attila Lőrinczy as Pap
* Mihály Pálfi as Baba

## Music

[edit]

The film features music scored by electronic artist Amon Tobin, released on his 2012 compilation Boxset.[5] It additionally contains music written by the band Hollywoodoo during the end credits. The song is entitled "Erdő" (translated as "Forest") and is from the album "Karmolok, harapok" released in 2004, which directly translated from Hungarian to English means "I Scratch, I Bite". The music video is directed by Pálfi and contains many scenes from the film including copies of scenes containing various band members.[6]

## Release

[edit]

Taxidermia premiered at the Hungarian Film Festival on 3 February 2006 before screening in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.[7] It opened in France through Memento Films on 23 August 2006, Hungary on 9 November, and Austria (also in Hungary) through Pool Filmverlieh on 9 February 2007.

The film received a theatrical release, albeit limited, in the United States on 14 August 2009. It was released in two venues by Regent Releasing and grossed $11,408.[3]

### Critical reception

[edit]

Despite its divisive nature, "Taxidermia" gained attention on the festival circuit and received several awards and nominations. It played at prestigious film festivals like Cannes and was Hungary's submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 79th Academy Awards. Over the years, "Taxidermia" has developed a cult following among fans of unconventional and avant-garde cinema. Its audacity and willingness to push boundaries have contributed to its status as a cult film.

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 81% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 6.68/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Surreal and visually striking, Taxidermia is, at times, graphic and difficult to watch, but creatively touches on disturbing subjects with imagination and wit."[8] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[9] Deloret Imnidian of High on Films Website writes "Taxidermia is a delicious film for those who can digest it." in his 4.5 star rated review of the film.

## See also

[edit]

* Unsimulated sex

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "TAXIDERMIA (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 19 June 2007. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
2. ^ "Taxidermia (2006) - Box office / business". Internet Movie Database. Amazon.com. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
3. ^ a b "Taxidermia (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
4. ^ "imdb.com". forum discussion. Retrieved 7 January 2012.[dead link]
5. ^ "Taxidermia, by Amon Tobin".
6. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuD8AUP7ing| Hollywoodoo - Erdő [Official Video] [HQ] on YouTube
7. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Taxidermia". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
8. ^ "Taxidermia (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
9. ^ "Taxidermia Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 June 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website (US)
* Official website (Hungary)
* Taxidermia at IMDb
* Taxidermia at Box Office Mojo
* Taxidermia at Rotten Tomatoes
* Taxidermia at Metacritic

* v
* t
* e

Hungarian submissions for Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

* Twenty Hours (1965)
* The Round-Up (1966)
* Father (1967)
* The Boys of Paul Street (1968)
* The Upthrown Stone (1969)
* Lovefilm (1970)
* Love (1971)
* Present Indicative (1972)
* Photography (1973)
* Cats' Play (1974)
* Adoption (1975)
* The Fifth Seal (1976)
* A Strange Role (1977)
* Hungarians (1978)
* Angi Vera (1979)
* Bizalom (1980)
* Mephisto (1981)
* Time Stands Still (1982)
* The Revolt of Job (1983)
* Yerma (1984)
* Colonel Redl (1985)
* Cat City (1986)
* Diary for My Lovers (1987)
* Hanussen (1988)
* My 20th Century (1989)
* Little but Tough (1990)
* Brats (1991)
* Sweet Emma, Dear Böbe (1992)
* We Never Die (1993)
* Woyzeck (1994)
* The Outpost (1995)
* Vaska Easoff (1996)
* The Witman Boys (1997)
* Gypsy Lore (1998)
* The Lord's Lantern in Budapest (1999)
* Glamour (2000)
* Abandoned (2001)
* Hukkle (2002)
* Forest (2003)
* Kontroll (2004)
* Fateless (2005)
* White Palms (2006)
* Taxidermia (2007)
* Iska's Journey (2008)
* Chameleon (2009)
* Bibliothèque Pascal (2010)
* The Turin Horse (2011)
* Just the Wind (2012)
* The Notebook (2013)
* White God (2014)
* Son of Saul (2015)
* Kills on Wheels (2016)
* On Body and Soul (2017)
* Sunset (2018)
* Those Who Remained (2019)
* Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (2020)
* Post Mortem (2021)
* Blockade (2022)
* Four Souls of Coyote (2023)
* Semmelweis (2024)

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