Béla Tarr facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Béla Tarr
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Tarr at the Midnight Sun Film Festival in Sodankylä, Finland (2012).
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| Born | 21 July 1955 Pécs, Hungary
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| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Occupation | Filmmaker |
| Years active | 1971–present |
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Notable work
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Béla Tarr (born 21 July 1955) is a famous filmmaker from Hungary. He is known for making movies that often show real life in a unique way. His films sometimes have a serious or thoughtful mood.
Tarr started making films that he called "social cinema." These movies told everyday stories about regular people. He often used a style called cinema vérité, which means "truthful cinema." This style makes films look like documentaries. Over time, his films changed in style and themes.
His movie Damnation (1988) became well-known for its slow and steady camera movements. This became a special part of his filmmaking style. Later, Sátántangó (1994) and Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) continued his serious look at reality. Sátántangó is sometimes listed among the greatest films ever made. Werckmeister Harmonies also received a lot of praise from critics.
Tarr often worked with the writer László Krasznahorkai. He also collaborated with composer Mihály Víg and cinematographer Fred Kelemen. Actress Erika Bók and Ágnes Hranitzky, who was his partner, also worked with him often. Ágnes Hranitzky is sometimes credited as a co-director on his last three films.
After his film The Turin Horse (2011) was released, Tarr announced he would stop directing feature films. This movie was on many "best-of" lists that year. In 2013, he opened a film school in Sarajevo called film.factory. He moved in 2016. He has also created art installations that include new film scenes. One such work was shown in Amsterdam in 2017.
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Béla Tarr's Early Life and Start in Film
Tarr was born in Pécs, Hungary, but grew up in Budapest. His parents both worked in the theatre and film world. His father designed sets for plays and movies. His mother worked as a prompter at a theatre for over 50 years. His brother, György Tarr, is a painter.
When he was ten, Tarr got a small acting role in a TV drama. It was an adaptation of a story by Leo Tolstoy. Other than a few small appearances, he did not pursue acting.
Tarr's father gave him an 8mm camera for his 14th birthday. At 16, Tarr and his friends started a filmmaking group. They called it Dziga Vertov, named after a famous filmmaker. They made a film called Guest Workers, which won an award at an amateur film festival. This film led to him being questioned by the authorities at the time.
He wanted to study philosophy at university but was not accepted. So, he took odd jobs and kept making amateur films. He later decided to focus on filmmaking.
First Steps in Filmmaking
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Tarr's early amateur films were mostly documentaries. They showed the lives of workers and poor people in Hungarian cities. His amateur work caught the attention of the Béla Balázs Studios. This studio helped fund his first feature film, Családi tűzfészek (Family Nest), in 1977. Tarr was 22 years old when he started filming it.
He made Family Nest with a small budget and used people who were not professional actors. He filmed it in just six days. The movie showed a very realistic view of society. Critics thought it was similar to films by American director John Cassavetes. However, Tarr said he had not seen any of Cassavetes's films before making Family Nest, which came out in 1979.
After Family Nest, Tarr studied at the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest. His next films, Szabadgyalog (The Outsider, 1980) and Panelkapcsolat (The Prefab People, 1981), were similar in style. The Prefab People was his first film to use professional actors in the main roles. In 1982, he made a TV adaptation of Macbeth. This film was very different, made with only two very long shots.
Later Films and Unique Style
After Őszi almanach (Almanac of Fall, 1984), Tarr started working with Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai. Their first collaboration was Kárhozat (Damnation) in 1988. They then planned to adapt Krasznahorkai's long novel Sátántangó. This film took over seven years to make. The 415-minute (almost 7-hour) film was released in 1994 and received international praise.
After this long film, he released a 35-minute short film called Journey on the Plain in 1995. He then took a break until 2000, when he released Werckmeister Harmóniák (Werckmeister Harmonies). This film was also highly praised by critics and at film festivals.
Many shots in Tarr's later films are very long, sometimes lasting six to eleven minutes. It is even said that some shots took a month to plan and film. In these shots, the camera often moves smoothly, circling characters or even covering multiple scenes. For example, in the opening of Sátántangó, the camera follows a herd of cows around a village. American writer Susan Sontag was a big fan of Tarr's work. She even said she would happily watch Sátántangó once a year.
After Werckmeister Harmonies, he started filming A Londoni férfi (The Man From London). This film was based on a novel by Georges Simenon. It premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and was released worldwide in 2008. Tarr then worked on A torinói ló (The Turin Horse), which he said would be his last feature film.
For many years, it was hard to find his films on DVD. But now, many of his works are available. In 2020, a special high-quality version of Sátántangó was released. In 2021, he was an executive producer for the film Lamb, directed by one of his former students.
Influence on Other Filmmakers
Filmmaker Gus Van Sant has said that Béla Tarr greatly influenced his later movies. For example, in his film Gerry, Van Sant started using very long, continuous shots, similar to Tarr's style.
Supporting Filmmakers' Rights
In 2011, Tarr joined the board of a cinema foundation called Cine Foundation International. This group supports human rights through film. He spoke out against the imprisonment of filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof. He said that filmmaking is an important part of human culture. He believed that attacking filmmakers is wrong and cannot be justified.
Awards and Recognition
Béla Tarr has received many awards for his work.
- In September 2012, he received a special award for his lifetime achievements at the BIAFF festival.
- In June 2017, he received a lifetime achievement award at the Sardinia Film Festival.
- In December 2022, he was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).
- In November 2024, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 37th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF).
Views on Society and Politics
In his later high school years, Tarr developed strong views on society. He has said he still considers himself an anarchist. Anarchism is a political idea that suggests societies can work well without a government. Tarr is also an atheist, meaning he does not believe in a god.
Tarr is a strong critic of nationalism, which is a belief that one's own nation is superior to all others. In a 2016 interview, he criticized leaders who promote nationalism. He also spoke out about the refugee crisis. He wrote that people have caused problems like wars through greed and ignorance. He believes that when people face the victims of these actions, they must question their own morality. He asked why fences are built to keep people out.
In December 2023, Tarr joined 50 other filmmakers in signing an open letter. This letter asked for a ceasefire and an end to harm against civilians during the conflict in Gaza. It also called for help to reach people in need and for hostages to be released.
Filmography
Feature films
- Családi tűzfészek / Family Nest (1979)
- Szabadgyalog / The Outsider (1981)
- Panelkapcsolat / The Prefab People (1982)
- Őszi almanach / Almanac of Fall (1984)
- Kárhozat / Damnation (1988)
- Sátántangó / Satantango (1994)
- Werckmeister harmóniák / Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)
- A londoni férfi / The Man from London (2007)
- A torinói ló / The Turin Horse (2011)
Television films
- Macbeth (1982)
Short films
- Hotel Magnezit (1978)
- Cinemarxisme (1979)
- Utazás az alföldön / Journey on the Plain (1995)
- Visions of Europe (film) (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)
See also
In Spanish: Béla Tarr para niños
