Béla Tarr
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Béla Tarr (born 21 July 1955) is a Hungarian filmmaker. Debuting with the film '' Family Nest'' (1977), Tarr began his directorial career with a brief period of what he refers to as "social cinema", aimed at telling everyday stories about ordinary people, often in the style of
cinema vérité Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking * ...
. Over the next decade, he changed the cinematic style and thematic elements of his films. Tarr has been interpreted as having a pessimistic view of humanity; the characters in his works are often cynical, and have tumultuous relationships with one another in ways critics have found to be darkly comic. ''
Almanac of Fall ''Almanac of Fall'' ( hu, Öszi almanach) is a 1984 Hungarian film directed by Béla Tarr. The Curzon Artificial Eye edition of this film available in the UK is called "Autumn Almanac."
'' (1984) follows the inhabitants of a run-down apartment as they struggle to live together while sharing their hostilities. The drama ''
Damnation Damnation (from Latin '':wikt:damnatio, damnatio'') is the concept of Divine judgment, divine punishment and torment in an afterlife for actions that were committed, or in some cases, not committed on Earth. In Ancient Egyptian religion, Anci ...
'' (1988) was lauded for its languid and controlled camera movement, which Tarr would become known for internationally. ''
Sátántangó ''Sátántangó'' (; meaning ' Satan's Tango') is a 1994 drama film directed by Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr. Shot in black-and-white and running for more than seven hours, it is based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Hungarian novelist ...
'' (1994) and ''
Werckmeister Harmonies ''Werckmeister Harmonies'' (; hu, Werckmeister harmóniák) is a 2000 Hungarian drama film directed by Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky, based on the 1989 novel ''The Melancholy of Resistance'' by László Krasznahorkai. Shot in black-and-white a ...
'' (2000) continued his bleak and desolate representations of reality, while incorporating apocalyptic overtones. The former sometimes appears in scholarly polls of the
greatest films ever made This is a list of films considered the best in national and international surveys of critics and the public. Some surveys focus on all films, while others focus on a particular genre or country. Voting systems differ, and some surveys suffe ...
, and the latter received wide acclaim from critics. Tarr would later compete at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival with his film ''
The Man from London ''The Man from London'' ( hu, A londoni férfi) is a 2007 Hungarian film directed by Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky. It is an adaptation by Tarr and his collaborator-friend László Krasznahorkai of the 1934 novel ''L'Homme de Londres'' by proli ...
'', which opened to moderately positive reviews. Tarr frequently collaborated with novelist
László Krasznahorkai László Krasznahorkai (; born 5 January 1954) is a Hungarian novelist and screenwriter known for difficult and demanding novels, often labeled postmodern, with dystopian and melancholic themes. Several of his works, including his novels '' ...
, film composer
Mihály Víg Mihály Víg (born 1957, Budapest) is a Hungarian composer, poet, songwriter, guitarist, singer and actor. Career Born into a family of musicians. He is the co-founder of bands Trabant (1980–1986) and Balaton (1979–present). Although th ...
,
cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
Fred Kelemen Fred Kelemen (born 1964, in Berlin) is a Hungarian-German film and theater director, cinematographer and writer. The late Susan Sontag helped to promote Kelemen's work in the mid-1990s, comparing it to the likes of Alexander Sokurov, Béla Tarr ...
, actress
Erika Bók Erika Bók is a Hungarian actress who has appeared exclusively in the films of Béla Tarr Béla Tarr (born 21 July 1955) is a Hungarian filmmaker. Debuting with the film ''Family Nest'' (1977), Tarr began his directorial career with a brie ...
, and
Ágnes Hranitzky Ágnes Hranitzky is a Hungarian film editor and director best known for her long-standing collaborations with her spouse Béla Tarr. Film career Hranitzky began working in the 1970s as a film editor on Hungarian films. She began collaborating with ...
(then his partner). She is sometimes credited as a co-director of his last three works. After the release of his film ''
The Turin Horse ''The Turin Horse'' ( hu, A torinói ló) is a 2011 Hungarian drama film directed by Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky, starring János Derzsi, Erika Bók and Mihály Kormos. It was co-written by Tarr and his frequent collaborator László Krasznaho ...
'' (2011), which made many year-end "best-of" critics' lists, Tarr announced his retirement from feature-length film direction. In February 2013 he started a film school in
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
, known as "film.factory", and moved in 2016. He has since created an installation that features newly shot film sequences, presented in a 2017
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
exhibition called ''Till the End of the World''.


Life

Tarr was born in
Pécs Pécs ( , ; hr, Pečuh; german: Fünfkirchen, ; also known by other #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the countr ...
, but grew up in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
. His parents were in both the theatre and film industry: his father designed scenery, while his mother worked as a prompter at a theatre for more than 50 years. At the age of 10, Tarr was taken to a casting session run by Hungarian National Television (MTV) by his mother, and he ultimately won the role of the protagonist's son in a TV drama adaptation of
Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
's ''
The Death of Ivan Ilyich ''The Death of Ivan Ilyich'' (also Romanized ''Ilich, Ilych, Ilyitch''; russian: Смерть Ивана Ильича, Smert' Ivána Ilyicha), first published in 1886, is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, considered one of the masterpieces of his late f ...
''. Other than a small role in
Miklós Jancsó Miklós Jancsó (; 27 September 192131 January 2014) was a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. Jancsó achieved international prominence starting in the mid-1960s with works including '' The Round-Up'' (''Szegénylegények'', 1965), '' ...
's film ''Szörnyek évadja'' (''Season of Monsters'', 1986) and few one-glimpse cameos (such as in
Gábor Bódy Gábor Bódy (30 August 1946 – 24 October 1985) was a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, theoretic, and occasional actor. A pioneer of experimental filmmaking and film language, Bódy is one of the most important figures of Hungarian cine ...
's ''Dog's Night Song''
983 Year 983 ( CMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byza ...
, Tarr has sought no other acting roles. By his own account, initially he sought to become a philosopher, and considered film-making as something of a hobby. However, after making his 8mm short films, the Hungarian government would not allow Tarr to attend university so he instead chose to pursue film production.


Early work

Tarr began to realize his interest in film making at the age of 16 by making amateur films and later working as a caretaker at a national House for Culture and Recreation. Most of his amateur works were documentaries, mostly about the life of workers or poor people in urban Hungary. His amateur work brought him to the attention of the Béla Balázs Studios (named in honor of the Hungarian cinema theorist who helped fund Tarr's 1977 feature debut, ''Családi tűzfészek'', which Tarr began filming at age 22.) He shot the film with little budget and using non-professional actors in six days. The film was faithful to the "
Budapest school The Budapest school, or documentarism, was a Hungarian film movement that flourished from roughly 1972 to 1984. The movement originated from Béla Balázs Studios, a small-budget filmmaking community that aimed to unite the young avant-garde an ...
" or "documentarist" style popular at the time within Béla Balázs Studios, maintaining absolute
social realism Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...
on screen. Critics found the film to suggest the influence of the American director
John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and dire ...
, although Tarr denied having seen any of Cassavetes's films prior to shooting ''Családi tűzfészek'', which was released in 1979. After completing "Családi tűzfészek," Tarr began his studies in the Hungarian School of Theatrical and Cinematic Arts. The 1980 film ''Szabadgyalog'' (''The Outsider'') and the following year's ''Panelkapcsolat'' (''The Prefab People'') continued in much the same vein, with small changes in style. The latter was the first film by Tarr to feature professional actors in the leading roles. With a 1982 television adaptation of ''
Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
'', his work began to change dramatically. The film is composed of only two shots: the first shot (before the main title) is five minutes long, the second 67 minutes long.


Later work

After 1984's ''Őszi almanach'' (''
Almanac of Fall ''Almanac of Fall'' ( hu, Öszi almanach) is a 1984 Hungarian film directed by Béla Tarr. The Curzon Artificial Eye edition of this film available in the UK is called "Autumn Almanac."
''), Tarr (who had written his first four features alone) began collaborating with Hungarian novelist
László Krasznahorkai László Krasznahorkai (; born 5 January 1954) is a Hungarian novelist and screenwriter known for difficult and demanding novels, often labeled postmodern, with dystopian and melancholic themes. Several of his works, including his novels '' ...
for 1988's '' Kárhozat'' (''Damnation''). A planned adaptation of Krasznahorkai's epic novel ''
Sátántangó ''Sátántangó'' (; meaning ' Satan's Tango') is a 1994 drama film directed by Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr. Shot in black-and-white and running for more than seven hours, it is based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Hungarian novelist ...
'' took over seven years to realize; the 415-minute film was finally released to international acclaim in 1994. After this epic he released the 35-minute ''Journey on the Plain'' in 1995, but fell into silence until 2000's '' Werckmeister Harmóniák'' (''Werckmeister Harmonies''). It was acclaimed by critics and the Festival circuit in general. Many, if not most, of the shots in these later films are around six to eleven minutes long. It is possible that for some, a month was spent on a single shot. In many of these shots the camera swoops, glides, pans, and/or cranes. Often it circles the characters, and sometimes even spans multiple scenes. A shot may, as in the opening of ''Sátántangó'', travel with a herd of cows around a village, or follow the nocturnal peregrinations of a drunkard who is forced to leave his house because he's run out of alcohol. Susan Sontag has championed Tarr as one of the saviors of the modern cinema, saying she would gladly watch ''Sátántangó'' once a year. After ''Werckmeister Harmonies'' he began filming '' A Londoni férfi'' (''The Man From London'') an adaptation of a
Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...
novel. It was scheduled to be released at the
2005 Cannes Film Festival The 58th Cannes Film Festival started on 11 May and ran until 22 May 2005. Twenty movies from 13 countries were selected to compete. The awards were announced on 21 May. The Palme d'Or went to the Belgium, Belgian film ''L'Enfant (film), L'Enfant ...
in May, but production was postponed because of the February suicide of producer
Humbert Balsan Humbert Jean René Balsan (21 August 1954 – 10 February 2005) was a French film producer and chairman of the European Film Academy. He was known for securing financing and distribution for diverse and often challenging films. In February 2005 ...
. Additionally, there were disputes with other producers regarding a possible change in the film's financing. It premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and was released worldwide in 2008. Tarr then began working on a film called '' A torinói ló'' (''The Turin Horse'') which he has said will be his last. For many years, none of his work was available on DVD (except in Japan), but ''Werckmeister Harmonies'' and ''Damnation'' have been made available on a two-disc DVD in Europe, courtesy of Artificial Eye (who have also issued ''The Man From London'') and both films are now available in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
on separate DVDs from Facets Video. Tarr's early works; ''Family Nest'', ''The Outsider'', and ''The Prefab People'' are also available on DVD in the US, courtesy of Facets. Facets was supposed to release ''Sátántangó'' on DVD on 28 November 2006 but was delayed until 22 July 2008. Artificial Eye released the film on 14 November 2006. A comparison of the two DVD editions has been posted at DVD Beaver. In 2020, a 4K restoration of ''Sátántangó'' was released on Blu-ray by Curzon Artificial Eye and was made available for online streaming by the Criterion Channel. In September 2012, he received the BIAFF special award for lifetime achievement. In June 2017, he received the lifetime achievement at Sardinia Film Festival, XII edition. In July 2021, he executive-produced the Icelandic-Swedish-Polish horror-drama film ''
Lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...
'', directed by his former student at film.factory, Valdimar Jóhannsson. It is due to be released on October 8th, 2021 by
A24 A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...
. In December 2022, he received the lifetime achievement award at
International Film Festival of Kerala The International Film Festival of Kerala (abbreviated as IFFK) is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy ...
, IFFK, 28th edition.


Influence

Gus Van Sant often cites Tarr as a huge influence on his later work, beginning with '' Gerry'' when Van Sant began using very long uninterrupted takes.


Cine Foundation International

In January 2011, Tarr joined the Board of Directors of the recently formed cinema foundation and
NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
for human rights
Cine Foundation International Cine Foundation International is London-based non-profit film company and human rights NGO "aiming to 'empower open consciousness through cinema'". The foundation was formed in December 2010 by American filmmaker Jesse Richards, founder of the Rem ...
. In a press release dated 24 January 2011 Tarr made the following statement regarding the imprisonment of filmmakers
Jafar Panahi Jafar Panâhi ( fa, جعفر پناهی, ; born 11 July 1960) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and film editor, commonly associated with the Iranian New Wave film movement. After several years of making short films and working as an ass ...
and
Mohammad Rasoulof Mohammad Rasoulof ( fa, محمد رسول‌اف; born 16 November 1972) is an Iranian independent filmmaker. He is known for several award-winning films, including his first, ''The Twilight'' (2002); '' Iron Island'' (2005); ''Manuscripts Don' ...
: :Cinematography is an integral part of universal human culture! An attack against cinematography is desecrating universal human culture! This cannot be justified by any notion, ideology or religious conviction! Our friend, brother and esteemed colleague Jafar Panahi is in prison today, based on conjured and fictional accusations! Jafar did not do anything else than what is the duty of all of us; to talk honestly, fairly about our own country and loved ones, to show everything that surrounds us with tender tolerance and harsh austerity! Jafar’s real crime is that he did just that; gracefully, elegantly and with a roguish smile in his eyes! Jafar made us love his heroes, the people of Iran; he achieved that they have become members of our families! WE CANNOT LOSE HIM! This is our common responsibility, as despite all appearances we belong together.


Personal views

Tarr is a critic of
nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
, and in a 2016 interview said, "
Trump Trump most commonly refers to: * Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021) * Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank Trump may also refer to: Businesses and organizations * Donald J. T ...
is the shame of the United States. Mr. Orbán is the shame of Hungary. Marine Le Pen is the shame of France. Et cetera." In a letter hung near the entrance to a pro-migration exhibition in front of the Hungarian Parliament, Tarr wrote, "We have brought the planet to the brink of catastrophe with our greediness and our unlimited ignorance. With the horrible wars we waged with the goal of robbing the people there. ..Now we are confronted with the victims of our acts. We must ask the question: who are we, and what morality do we represent when we build a fence to keep out these people?" On his religious views, Tarr is an
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
.


Filmography


Feature films

* ''
Családi tűzfészek ''Family Nest'' ( hu, Családi tüzfészek) is a 1979 Hungarian black-and-white drama film, directed by Béla Tarr. The film won Grand Prize at the 1979 Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival, tying with Spanish film El Super. Plot T ...
/ Family Nest'' (1979) * '' Szabadgyalog / The Outsider'' (1981) * '' Panelkapcsolat / The Prefab People'' (1982) * '' Őszi almanach / Almanac of Fall'' (1984) * '' Kárhozat / Damnation'' (1988) * ''
Sátántangó ''Sátántangó'' (; meaning ' Satan's Tango') is a 1994 drama film directed by Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr. Shot in black-and-white and running for more than seven hours, it is based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Hungarian novelist ...
/ Satan's Tango'' (1994) * '' Werckmeister harmóniák / Werckmeister Harmonies'' (2000) * '' A londoni férfi / The Man from London'' (2007) * '' A torinói ló / The Turin Horse'' (2011)


Television films

* ''
Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
'' (1982)


Short films

* ''
Hotel Magnezit A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
'' (1978) * '' Utazás az alföldön / Journey on the Plain'' (1995) * ''
Visions of Europe (film) ''Visions of Europe'' is 2004 anthology film consisting of 25 short films by 25 different directors from Europe. References External links * 2004 comedy-drama films 2004 films Anthology films {{2000s-comedy-drama-film-stub ...
'' (2004) ** segment: ''Prologue''


Documentary films

* ''Az utolsó hajó / The Last Boat'' (1990, 31 min), segment from '' City Life'' * ''Muhamed'' (2017, 10 min) * ''Missing People'' (2019, 95 min)


Sources

* Ramón Andrés, «Nada. A propósito de ''El caballo de Turín'' de Béla Tarr», en ''Pensar y no caer'' Barcelona, Acantilado, 2016, pp. 195–220. *
Thorsten Botz-Bornstein Thorsten Botz-Bornstein (born 1964) is a German philosopher and writer specializing in aesthetics and intercultural philosophy. Biography Botz-Bornstein was born in Germany in 1964, studied philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris (Paris I) from ...
, ''Organic Cinema: Film Architecture, and the Work of Bela Tarr'' (New York: Berghahn, 2017) *
Jacques Rancière Jacques Rancière (; born 10 June 1940) is a French philosopher, Professor of Philosophy at European Graduate School in Saas-Fee and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Paris VIII: Vincennes—Saint-Denis. After co-authoring ' ...
, ''Béla Tarr, The Time After'' (Minneapolis: Univocal, 2013) * András Bálint Kovács, ''The Cinema of Béla Tarr: The Circle Closes" (London: Wallflower, 2013) * Ira Jaffe: ''Slow Movies, Countering the Cinema of Action'' (New York: Wallflower Press, 2014)


References


External links

* *
Béla Tarr on the Board of Directors for Cine Foundation International



Kinoeye Essay


by Fred Kelemen,
FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...
website, March 2005, retrieved 17 April 2006
Vajramedia Presents: ''Sátántangó'' Berlinale 1994 Forum Documentation


{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarr, Bela 1955 births Hungarian atheists Hungarian film directors Hungarian screenwriters Living people People from Pécs Hungarian experimental filmmakers Hungarian filmmakers Members of the Széchenyi Academy of Literature and Arts