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Review

Hukkle is an impishly inventive exercise in cinematic gymnastics that unfurls its tale of murder, mischief and mayhem completely without a word of dialogue. Set in a bucolic Hungarian hamlet, the film opens on a quiet country road where an old man rests on a bench, hiccupping with a toothless grin. Director György Pálfi picks up on the old man’s rhythm (the film’s title is Hungarian for hiccup) to launch into a dazzling visual and auditory journey in which every creak of a floorboard and lick of a cat whisker is treated with the utmost significance. With an unparalleled attention to detail, Pálfi zeroes in on quiet village life. But wait, there’s a murderous plot afoot and, in a twist on Arsenic and Old Lace, the town’s men are dropping dead in droves. Pálfi delights in uncovering this intrigue as he follows a young detective on the hunt for clues. This wickedly funny, kaleidoscopic sight and sound escapade is sure to delight and will leave audiences with a knowing grin.

 -- Eric Moore