enthralling .... every minute/preposition

[navi tasan]

“Sátántangó” was made into a film in 1994 by the Hungarian director Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has collaborated on various screenplays. Despite its seven-hour run-time, Sontag said the film was “enthralling for every minute.”

Source:

Hungary’s László Krasznahorkai wins Nobel Prize in literature for work confronting ‘apocalyptic terror’

The 2025 Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to László Krasznahorkai, a Hungarian writer who said his dark and difficult novels aim to examine reality “to the point of madness.”

www.yahoo.com

Which of the following would be correct in that sentence?

1) enthralling during every minute
2) enthralling every minute
3) enthralling in every minute
4) enthralling for every minute

or....

I think I like 'enthralling for every minute' the least!

 

[jutfrank]

With no preposition, it sounds to me like a viewer is enthralled no less frequently than one time per minute. That is, it's about how frequently you're going to be enthralled.

With 'in', it sounds like the viewer is enthralled at least once in every timed minute of the film, i.e., from 00:00-01:00, and then from 01:00-02:00, etc. You could similarly use 'in every moment' instead to get this same meaning, where each periodic moment has an enthralling experience. It's about how rich the film is in enthralling moments.

With 'for', it sounds like the viewer is enthralled continuously for the whole duration of the film. That is, it's about continuous enthralment, which is what I'd guess is the intended meaning here.

I don't think #1 works, as a minute can't really be seen as an event, which is how 'during' normally works.

 

[navi tasan]

Thank you very much, Jutfrank,

This was really helpful. Prepositions are sometimes very confusing.

BTW I think you meant to write "I don't think #1 works, as a minute...."

 

[jutfrank]

BTW I think you meant to write "I don't think #1 works, as a minute...."

Yes, I did. Thanks for pointing out that mistake. I've fixed it now.