Communists use communism to camouflage criminal activities: Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr in Kerala

The leaders use communism to camouflage their criminal activities and violations of human rights, said Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr in communist-ruled Kerala.

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 19: Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr has come down heavily on communism, claiming that the communist leaders use the ideology to hide their criminal activities and violations of human rights.

He made this communist in Kerala where the communist government is in power. The filmmaker was in Thiruvananthapuram to attend the 27th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) 2022.

Speaking to a Malayalam daily, Béla Tarr claimed that his country had embraced communism once, but the same country taught him to hate it. The filmmaker claims that he was a diehard fan of communism till he was 16.

"Until now I have not seen any good communist. The leaders use communism to camouflage their criminal activities and violations of human rights. Most of them do not know difference between communism and Marxism. I do not know the situation in Kerala," Organiser quoted him as saying.

According to him, autocracy and communism are birds of same feathers and no country made progress through communism. He listed out the names of the countries such as Poland, Hungary, East Germany and Russia which failed due to communism.

Béla Tarr, whose 'Werckmeister Harmonies' (2000), 'The Turin Horse' (2011) and 'the Satantango' (1994) in soul-rending black and white, have inspired a cult following everywhere, claimed that China is a capitalist country and the term 'communist' is printed on a banner does not mean that it is a communist party and capitalism contributed to the growth of China.

The countries, which were controlled by communists, are facing acute poverty today, he said. Citing the examples of Stalin and Kim Jong-un, the Hungarian filmmaker stated that communism and autocracy go hand-in-glove.

He thanked the Kerala government for presenting him the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 27th International Film Festival of Kerala. However, Béla Tarrfelt that he was being honoured for his works and not his political views.