The film, directed by Todd Field, tells the story of Lydia Tár, chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. Although the character is fictitious – Berliners have never had a woman as chief conductor.
In many contexts, Blanchett has been raised as the supporting force of the film. In The Guardian’s five-star review, the critic is of the opinion that no other actor could play such a challenging, versatile and ever-evolving role believably.
– His performance pierces the viewer’s heart like a conductor’s baton, praises the critic.
And Blanchett, of course, for Best Actress, for which she has already won a Golden Globe and a Bafta. Blanchett is also up for an Oscar for the role, she already has two wins, one for the main role and one for the supporting role.
The world-renowned top conductor was impressed by Blanchett’s performance
Dudamel, Blanchett and Field recently had an interesting discussion about the film at an audience event in Los Angeles.
Among other things, Dudamel evaluates Blanchett’s leadership and the conductor’s movements in the film as natural. Blanchett responded by asking if Dudamel would offer her a job, to which the top conductor replied without flinching that Blanchett could definitely become the next chief conductor of Los Angeles.
A moment later, Dudamel got serious and asked Blanchett if she had thought about becoming a real conductor.
– This is not that kind of interview, Blanchett laughed and continued by stating that conducting the orchestra was an unforgettable and life-changing experience for her.
The conductor who broke the glass ceiling in the United States was injured by Tár
Although many details of the film are based on facts and reality, Lydia Tár herself is a fictional character.
He opened his feelings about the film to The Times magazine in January. In the interview, Alsop says that he was worried as soon as he heard about the film for the first time.
– The main character has so many similarities with my own personal life. When I saw the movie, I was no longer worried, I was hurt. I was hurt as a woman, I was hurt as a conductor and I was hurt as a lesbian, Alsop said.
Alsop thought it was heartbreaking that the opportunity to show a woman as a top conductor on the big screen was wasted by making her an abuser of power.
According to him, the question is not about a film where a woman is seen as a top conductor, but about a film where a woman is evaluated in the position of a leader.
– People ask if we can trust them, and if they can work in such positions.
The principal conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has had a long and impressive career at the top of classical music. She has never been accused of inappropriate behavior, unlike the fictional Lydia Tár, whose story in many respects follows Alsop’s life.
\”Are the problems related to the person, profession or structures?\”
Tár moves inexorably towards the downfall of its main character, aside from current themes such as
It should be mentioned that during the two and a half hours we also see a lot of recognizable – and probably some annoying – clichés stereotyping the field of classical music.
All in all, Lydia Tár is a multidimensional character who, on the one hand, convinces the viewer of music’s ability to touch something unattainable in a person, on the other hand, puts everything she has achieved into question. Lydia Tár is accused of, among other things, abuse of power and sexual harassment.
– Abuse of power, abuse of people – you have to think about whether it is related to the person, profession or structures, Hoss said.
A glaring contradiction between the film and reality
– In Tár’s world, the glass ceiling has been broken once and for all. There is a balance between the sexes in the conductor’s profession, he writes.
Warren goes on to point out that at the beginning of the film, the main character suggests opening a mentoring program meant for women to men as well, because there is no longer any reason to separate the sexes.
– That’s a utopian fantasy. In reality, gender is still a problem in the conductor’s work, he emphasizes.
Warren substantiates his claim with research, according to which there are only five female conductors with a permanent title working in British orchestras, while there are several hundred men in similar orchestras. On the other hand, only 11 percent of conductors on the lists of British agencies are women.
In Tár, the main character is the chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic and an EGOT winner, i.e. one of the few who has won both an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. In reality, the Berlin Philharmonic has never had a woman as chief conductor, and no female composer-conductor is among the EGOT winners.
On the other hand, the choices made for the film can be seen as an attempt to shake up the structures of classical music or at least show what reality could be in the field of gender equality.
No Oscar nomination for music
One of the great aspects of classical music films is their ability to bring the works to an even larger audience and perhaps inspire new audiences to the art form.
Almost all of Tár’s music plays in the world of the film. There is no music that dramatizes separate events, played only for the spectators.
To the surprise of many, Tár did not receive an Oscar nomination for the music.
In any case, the film’s concept album topped Billboard magazine’s classical music album chart in November 2022.