Welcome to our Colossus Movie Guide for Tár. This guide contains everything you need to understand the movie. You’ll find a quick explanation of Tár, as well as our library of material covering key aspects of the movie. We encourage comments to help us put together the best possible guide. Thank you!
The Quick Explanation
Tár is essentially a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s famous shot story The Tell-Tale Heart. Heart is famous for how it dramatizes the main character’s sense of guilt through hearing the beating heart of someone they buried beneath the floor boards. It’s a purely subjective experience that drives the protagonist mad as they sit for an interview with the police who hear nothing. The tension becomes too much to bear and the criminal admits their crime.
Todd Field takes a minimalist approach compared to the melodrama of Poe. Lydia’s guilt over her role in Krista’s s**cide is explored in brief moments that can feel lost in the sheer size and breadth of Tár’s story. The metronome that activates in the night. The ghostly figure hiding in the background of a scene. Screams heard in an empty park. Growling. Dreams and nightmares. The surreal and subjective aspects are fractures in the reality of an otherwise very grounded story.
Adding to this meditation on guilt is the frame of the #MeToo movement. In Poe’s story, the crime is unbound to any contemporary happenings so feels very timeless. But Tár is absolutely contemporaneous to 2022 and the developing conversation around power dynamics, abuse of power, accountability, the separation of art and artist, and even the creation of the artistic persona. Tár asks a lot of vital questions, especially when returning to the scene between Lydia and Max and the bias of Lydia’s defense of Bach. It probably asks more questions than it answers, which will be fine for some viewers, disappointing for others.
Cast
- Lydia Tár/Linda Tarr – Cate Blanchett
- Sharon Goodnow – Nina Hoss
- Francesca Lentini – Noémie Merlant
- Eliot Kaplan – Mark Strong
- Olga Metkina – Sophie Kauer
- Andris Davis – Julian Glover
- Sebastian Brix – Allan Corduner
- Adam Gopnik – Adam Gopnik
- Written by – Todd Field
- Directed by – Todd Field
Movie Guide
Podcast
Chris and Travis share an in-depth discussion of the strengths and flaws of Tár.
Title Explanation
What does the title Tár mean? What does it tell us about the movie’s intentions and storyline? Let’s figure it out.
Themes and Meaning
Discover themes that help us define Tár’s commentary, message, and meaning.
Ending Explained
If the ending of Tár confused you, this explanation will help you understand everything you need to know.
Important Motifs
Explore important motifs that indicate Tár’s most crucial moments of symbolism.
Key Shots
A visual guide to Tár. Coming soon.
Questions and Answers
If you have questions about Tár, we have answers. Comment what you’re curious about and receive a response.
Write a response