A review of the controversial new film “Tar”
I confess that I had never heard of the American Todd Field before this work (he has only made two previous films, the last being 16 years ago) but “Tár”, which he wrote, produced and directed, will ensure that every serious cinema-goer will now be familiar with him.His eponymous character is a Lydia Tár, a fictitious female conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, a lesbian of audacious achievement with a complicated personal life. In this role, Australian Cate Blanchett is rarely off the screen and gives an outstanding performance which is a veritable tour-de-force.
The three most important support roles are all women too: German Nina Hoss as Sharon, Tár’s partner and first violinist in the orchestra; French Noémie Merlant as the maestro’s’s personal assistant Francesca; and British-German cellist and actress Sophie Kauer as Olga, a gifted young musician from Russia who has just joined the orchestra. Rarely does a movie have so many great roles for women.
The script is cracking and crackling and Todd Field, himself a musician, clearly knows a lot about classical music. The sound is fantastic and includes some of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony and Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Visually the film is always captivating.
In spite of all these great attributes, the length (158 minutes), the pacing (a slow beginning) and the opacity (even the title itself) of “Tár” make this a demanding work for the viewer. You have to pay attention to every scene and every line and, even then, it will not always be clear (I had to check out the plot outline on Wikipedia afterwards). There is so much going on – abuse of power, identity politics, and art/artist issues – and often understanding is delayed or obscure.
But truly this is a magnificent film which (rightly) will win a stack of awards.