“TÁR”, THE DARK SPIRIT OF GENIUS

AN IMPRESSIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL-DRAMA

Written and directed by American filmmaker Todd Field, Tár is nominated for 6 Oscars at the 95th Academy Awards and is one of the favorite productions of the award season. Cate Blanchett, the lead actress who gave life to the character of Lydia Tár, a German classical music genius and the first female conductor of the orchestra, for her performance in this film, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress at the 76th British Academy Film Awards and embraced the Best Actress Award at the 80th Golden Globe Awards. At the center of the film, we see a strong female figure in the male-dominated world, a leading feminist figure in the advancement of women in the world of classical music. Representing a certain generation, this character is a part of the women’s rights movement, also called the women’s liberation movement, It symbolizes the Second Wave of the Feminist Movement. This movement encompasses a period of feminist activity in the West (mainly in the USA) beginning in the early 1960s and continuing until the late 1970s. The problems it deals with are; first-wave feminism was a variety of issues such as equality, legal inequalities, sexuality, family, workplace, and reproductive rights. There is already a struggle in the birth of feminism.

AMERICAN FEMINISM

Famous American author Rebecca Solnit, who has written articles on various subjects such as feminism, the environment, politics, and art, looks at the basic issues of women from a broad perspective and deals with the social dynamics that are imposed on women in her book titled “The Mother of All Questions”. Rebecca Solnit; “American feminism emerged from the abolitionist struggle, it was born at this juncture, sort of.” she touches on the origins of American feminism in her book. In the movie, we see that a character with a high ego, whose rise and fall are shown, struggles within the framework of the same problems as in the twentieth century. Thus, we see that there is a struggle at the center of the film.

GENIUS OR CRAZY?

The (fictional) character of Lydia Tár, the conductor of the world-famous Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, actually symbolizes an uncontrolled personality between genius and madness. In addition, the judgment of taste has an important quality in terms of the character in the film. So much so that it has a great role in communal and social communication in terms of character. Italian art philosopher Benedetto Croce, one of the most important figures in the history of aesthetics, is considered one of the most important Italian thinkers of the first half of the twentieth century. In his masterpiece Aesthetic as Science of Expression and General Linguistic, which left its mark on European philosophy, he deeply influenced the understanding of the art of the period, as well as the understanding of the philosophy of history and language. Croce; “The judging activity is called gusto, and the activity that produces it is called genius (geius). Genius and like are consequently the same in substance.” In his book, he refers to the similarity of Like and Genius. The character of Lydia Tár goes through fluctuating mental processes such as internal conflicts and Mood Disorders throughout the film. Master actress Cate Blanchett is on her way to the Oscars with this magnificent performance in the movie.

TOPIC OF THE FILM

Famed conductor and composer Lydia Tár, the first female musical director of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, has had an enviable career that few can even dream of. Lydia, who is leading the male-dominated classical music industry, will soon step into a series of events that will gradually shatter her power in the music world.

Stars; Cate Blanchett, Noémie Merlant, Nina Hoss, Sophie Kauer, Sylvia Flote, Sydney Lemmon, Mark Strong, Jessica Hansen and Alec Baldwin (voice).

BEHIND THE SCENES

– Cate Blanchett had to re-learn the piano, learned how to speak German, and learned how to conduct an orchestra for the film.

-The screams Lydia hears when jogging in the woods are the audio of Heather Donahue from the climax of The Blair Witch Project (1999)

– Scenes of the orchestra playing are complete, and 100 percent real. Cate Blanchett was actually conducting the Dresden Orchestra.

-The entire scene of Lydia teaching students at Juilliard is filmed in one unbroken take.

-All diegetic music was recorded live on-set, including Cate Blanchett‘s piano playing, Sophie Kauer‘s cello, and the Dresden Philharmonic‘s performances.

-Cate Blanchett was prepared for the role of Lydia Tár by Hungarian pianist, and professor at the Hungarian Academy of Music, Emese Virág.

-While at her childhood home, Lydia Tár‘s real name is revealed as Linda Tarr.

LYDIA TÁR

Filming took place in America–New York, Germany–Berlin, and Southeast Asia. TÁR is an impressive art film that will take you on a journey toward the international world of Western classical music.

EFE TEKSOY

REFERENCES

Benedetto Croce, İfade Bilimi ve Genel Linguistik Olarak Estetik (Aesthetic as Science of Expression and General Linguistic), translate. İsmail Tunalı, Ankara: Fol Kitap press, 2019

Rebecca Solnit, Tüm Soruların Anası (The Mother of All Questions), translate. Elif Ersavcı, Siren Yayınları press, 2022