Béla Tarr obituary

January 9, 2026

TL;DR

Béla Tarr, a celebrated Hungarian film director, has passed away at 70.
He was renowned for his distinctive style: slow-paced, black-and-white films with poetic narratives, set in bleak Hungarian landscapes.
Key works include 'Sátántangó' (over seven hours long), 'Damnation', 'Werckmeister Harmonies', and 'The Turin Horse'.
Tarr favored long, unbroken takes, with shots in 'Sátántangó' averaging two-and-a-half minutes.
His films explored themes of loss, desolation, and psychological depth, often with an atmosphere of foreboding.
He described his films as following 'the logic of life', incorporating repetition and frustration.
Tarr saw warnings about populism in films like 'Sátántangó' and 'Werckmeister Harmonies', and was a critic of the Hungarian regime under Viktor Orbán.
His career included early socially-attuned documentaries and a shift towards a more formalist style, collaborating with writer László Krasznahorkai.
Despite critical acclaim, his films had spotty distribution and his lengthy runtime was often seen as an obstacle to wider success.
Tarr's work influenced filmmakers like Gus Van Sant, and 'Sátántangó' was ranked No. 78 in Sight & Sound's 2022 greatest films poll.
He retired from directing, continuing to engage with filmmaking through shorts, producing, and running a film school.
Tarr considered filmmaking a 'drug' and expressed satisfaction with his completed body of work.

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