Béla Tarr, the Hungarian filmmaker who came to prominence in the late 80s with an onslaught of dystopian fables charting the fall of Communism, has variously been described as a “hopeful cynic” and a “scatological mystic.”
Formally, his work is characterised by an uncompromising aesthetic – a combination of epic runtimes, long takes, virtuoso camera movement, striking monochrome images and haunting soundtracks.
Thematically, Tarr performs an improbable, contradictory sort of alchemy – transforming stories of political corruption, social decline and the preposterousness of hope into films that are irresistibly watchable, deeply humane and blackly humorous.
Will Heaven Fall Upon Us? A Béla Tarr Retrospective presents four key features from the filmmaker’s oeuvre. Each made in partnership with Tarr’s regular group of collaborators, which includes screenwriter László Krasznahorkai, cinematographer Gábor Medvigy, composer Mihály Vig, and editor and co-director Ágnes Hranitzky.
New 4K restorations of Werckmeister Harmonies and Damnation screen alongside Tarr’s final treatise, The Turin Horse.
In this season
Cinema
Sátántangó
We regret to inform you that, due to unforeseen circumstances, the screening of Sátántangó has been cancelled. All ticket holders will be contacted.
Cinema
The Turin Horse
Raw, compelling and emotionally devastating, Béla Tarr’s final film is a fitting parting shot from a director renowned for creating arresting, artistically precise and philosophically…
Previously in this season
Cinema
Werckmeister Harmonies – 4K Restoration
Auteur Béla Tarr and codirector-editor Ágnes Hranitzky conjure an apocalyptic vision of dreamlike dread and fathomless beauty.