The Fault in Our 'TÁR'

by Nathaniel R

Cate Blanchett as "TÁR" © Focus Features

The world famous conductor Lydia Tár is breathing strangely in the wings. As she inhales and exhales forcefully with tiny staccato bursts of her facial muscles, the image of a rock star hopping in place, self-hyping before their concert is conjured. Will Tár's elite audience devolve into a hysterical screaming teenager at the first sight of her?

Conductor as rock star? It's a rare and incredulous notion. Gone are the days of monoculture when a "Maestro" like Leonard Bernstein (emphatically name checked) could become a household name. But in Todd Field's TÁR we believe it, surely in part because one of the most famous movie stars in the world is playing her. In the year of our lord 2022, Cate Blanchett needs no introduction; Lydia Tár is a different story, and her introduction -- an exhausting recitation of her many diverse accomplishments as she turns 50 -- is a doozy...

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Venice Diary #01 - Tár, White Noise, and Princess

by Elisa Giudici

Hello readers! It's Venice time again. As with previous festivals, I'll be reviewing the movies with some festival experience details on the side. I screened three and a half movies (we'll get to the half at the end) in the first Day of the Mostra. Both the official opening night film White Noise and Princess in the Orizzonti section were a bit disappointing though both are far from failures. On the bright side, Cate Blanchett really delivers in Tár.

But first something a little spooky as Venice starts off on the wrong foot. This year Sala Darsena (the main screening room for press and industry) appears to be …cursed? During the screening of White Noise a bat (a real, actual bat!) flew in front of the screen...

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Venice 2022: The "Tár" Tease and the Competition Lineup

by Nathaniel R

Cate Blanchett in TÁR

Most sites just give you a list of film titles but we always aim to provide you with more information which is one of the (several) reasons we're slower with the news! Over 50% of the competition titles at Venice this year come from just three countries: France, Italy, and the US and a lot of titles are connected to Netflix. Outside of those countries we get one film from Asia, one from the Middle East, two from South America, and two from UK/Ireland. If you include the Out of Competition titles there's more variety with Canada, Denmark, Ukraine, The Phillipines, and Estonia entering the chat.

After the jump a little bit about each of the 22 films competing for the Golden Lion, and a few of the Out of Competition films including the new Lars Von Trier. Plus that bewitching teaser to Tár, Todd Field's first film in 16 years...

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