Béla Tarr Regis Dialogue with Howard Feinstein

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Béla Tarr and film critic Howard Feinstein discuss his innovative filmography, punctuated by clips from his films.

[@alexanderkuptsov2549]

Tarr is great! I remember watching Family Nest in a theater and when the lights came on I saw Mr Tarr himself standing in the hall. And he didn't proceed to the front, he was just somewhere on the side. And he answered questions through an interpreter from Hungarian. My jaw went down when I saw the Maestro. He's great and although it may sound controversial, I like that he stopped making films. He's done it fully and his art is forever.

[@dankabal]

"We Hungarians were always too lazy-too lazy for Fascism, too lazy for Communism. We are eating too much, drinking too much, making love too much." As hungarian I can say this is the essence of being hungarian.

[@EsmagaSapos]

Portuguese are the same. That's the beginning of a great culture- being lazy, not wanting to work. People didn't born to work, people born to create. We neither wanted fascists, neither communists. Great cultures are the ones with the greatest adversities.

[@maxpitchkites]

Based

[@w19721]

What I see here is a conversation between an "intellectual" film critic and the profound film director Bela Tarr. The reason why Tarr is annoyed by Feinstein is because he is the example of film critics who try to interpreter every single thing in the films, sometimes more than what a director tries to show, just to seem prestigious. Thankfully Bela Tarr was honest with his reactions :)

[@MAAM195]

"...and long monologues"... after Feinstein had been talking for almost 5 minutes straight. That made me chuckle. Such a dry sense of humour. I don't think Feinstein got the joke though.

[@davidsanderson5918]

M A Abso-fuckin-lutely!!

[@MsDjbeta]

Love that moment! 21:00

[@kwixotic]

Jeesh, that opening statement in Feinstein's intro is certainly one long take!

[@uzirnis]

I'd like to make a ringtone of Bela's jacket crackling

[@thelivingmanpart2]

hahahah glad i wasn't the only one who noticed... on another note it's a pretty badass leather jacket

[@davy_K]

You can tell Tarr is highly intelligent and attuned to the world. He responds to some questions in a very similar way to Kieslowski. I don't think either have time for people who over think things.

[@koskazoli2841]

Tarr is a real grumpy grandpa:D I don't think anyone can make an interwiew with him without overanylising his films and making a fool out of himself. Tarr just doesn't give a shit and that's why he's great and unintentionally funny:D

[@ahilito]

ironic that a recorded interview with Bela Tarr uses so many different camera angles

[@eyeofacamera]

Feinstein evidently does not get it. Every word of his irritates Tarr as he, completely indifferent to the creator himself, expounds upon his own ideas regarding the film which are far from hitting the mark.. If you don't get it, let the creator speak and explain it to you.. or at least admit that you did not get it

[@Syncopator]

+Alex Verem My thoughts exactly. Feinstein is way out of his league here.

[@nolaughingmatter]

Sophistry

[@eyeofacamera]

Sailor or your fault for not attempting to feel it. It’s a double edge sword , of course, since there are certain type of viewers who do not wish to understand or to face their fears, explaining it as an artistic failure . Then you have artists that do not make it accessible to ever understand through their misuse of the film language.

[@Bjarte83]

The dancing scene in Satantango is among the funniest scenes ever made. The actors were actually drunk and improvising when they were filming it. The film is a masterpiece and imo Tarr's greatest work. Btw awkward silence @ 10:32 :)

[@Syncopator]

And anyone who knows anything about Hungarian folk dancing knows that a dance can easily last 45 minutes.

[@nieske15]

Bëla Tarr, you are great !!

[@avishv]

Thank you so much man for sharing it. \m/

[@antonelladicostanzo3206]

Che strano scorrere delle immagini... Da far girare la testa gli occhi... in senso circolare che poi non è! Meraviglioso il bianco e nero, limpido, netto, molto artistico, il vero colore di stampa fotografica! 👏

[@Lee_Forre]

beautiful.. one shot. gotta love Tarr. thanks alot for posting this.

[@user-ho5lj4ty4s]

Bella tarr is supreme

[@ADGO]

great stuff, thanks

[@IanAannevik]

Bela seems so done with everything Feinstein says like whenever he's been talking about a scene or whatever Bela always sighs, then goes: "...first of all" what an amazing individual he is

[@ulver121]

wow great post !!!! amazing director who inspire me to be a fillmmaker thanks or share :)

[@jarrahdrum]

Amazing

[@viksam009]

That critic assumed Bela Tarr made the film as some kind of political commentary which he didnt seem to like. Tarr was interested in only making a film about those characters and he mentioned it as a love story. As an artist, its fair that he didnt want his work to be mis interpreted on a public forum and he wanted him to watch it again to get a better perspective.

[@nolaughingmatter]

Mr. Tarr's contempt for Feinstein was evident. I would have liked to hear Tarr's explanations. Instead Feinstein went on and on. Let the great director speak.

[@christinajacobsen1650]

Wrong! Hungarians are born to contradict anyone and anything! Hungarians never agree to anyone except their own opinions! Irrespective of whom the interviewer had been, Bella Tarr would have had the same attitude. He in Hungarian, thats it!

[@mustafaal-sibai7380]

@@christinajacobsen1650 such a contemptuous and rudimentary claim. bold blanket statements such as these could be made and attributed to any group of people. certainly, finklestein, has not understood tarr's body of work because he has not lived under the plights western european despair; the rise & fall of the soviet union, stalinist communism, fascism, etc. such are the despotic elites of haughty "new york cinephiles" who glamorize their own historical conquests yet also secretly harbor envy to their european counterparts and their heavy-handed history.

[@nieske15]

I agree so much with Béla - about his great !! vision.

[@johnsharman7930]

I think Howard Feinstein is a bit presumptuous in some of his remarks, but I think he has a rapport with Tarr, who gives him that human trust that takes away the tension and allows a bit of spontaneity and improvisation in the encounter. If you compare this withthe formal interview he has with Jonathan Rosenbaum( see extra on DVD for Werckmeister Harmonies) with the use of an interpreter, where he speaks Hungarian throughout the interview and the interpreter translates what he says into English. It comes across-even though more accurate and respectful-as very dry and legalistic. Iwonder if he didn't fear Rosenbaum, who is the most intellectual critic around, but had no human contact with him. I ask you which interview is better or more truthful?Sometimes good-natured ignorance is bliss. Feinstein is OK by me. Tarr seems happier.

[@AlbertoBalsamm]

It would´ve been great if Feinstein let Bela Tarr actually speak, instead of filling the air with his own interpretations.

[@andymaracz7199]

You`re welcome. You know, something worth reading just like Gogol. Indeed, I have seen "Eternity and a Day" by Angelopoulos but I have only watched once. He`s a great filmmaker with extraordinary cinematic vision. We have similar taste I must admit.

[@lamentate07]

Ok, i'll check him out. I rate Gogol quite highly. Thanks for the recommendation. As for very long uninterrupted takes, my favourite is probably Theo Angelopoulos out of the 'long take masters'.

[@lamentate07]

He is being a little contrarian, but people that have met Bela Tarr claim that he feels a little uncomfortable talking about the 'ideas' and 'messages' in his films. They say he is nice guy, but he just doesn't like talking about it, and the best thing to say to Bela is to tell him that his films are moving. He tends to respond well that to apparently ;-) And the explanation he gives for the 'wall' scene sounds pretty ontological to me ;-)

[@chrislandaverdedf]

I felt it too... but it seemed to me that he wouldn't understand that it is all about the work of an artistand not about HIS knowledge and perspectives as a film critic

[@PedroDominguesunus]

"it´s not social, it´s not ontologial, it´s cosmical, the shit is cosmical" now we are talking. let´s do the thing.

[@waroidot]

Some might find him arrogant and if he comes across as that, it is mainly because of his broken English. I was born in Hungary and grew up around that time when he shot his first films so I think I understand where he's coming from. What's more shocking is the insurmountable gap between the critic dude and him. He is trying to read a lot more into his films than there really is in them and missing the point completely. That's why Béla tells him to "watch the clip again".

[@andymaracz7199]

Yeah, you are right there are completely different films. There is no doubt. I was talking about his shooting style using very long uninterrupted takes (Satantango, Journey on the Plain...) Many of the his works based on Krasznahorkai`s books and novels (Damnation, The Melancholy of Resistance, Satantango) He does the same thing with words and sentences and he is like Gogol on amphetamine sometimes. Slow, desolate but utterly poetric. Recommended.

[@Graham7392]

Golden:)

[@lamentate07]

@waroidot It is certainly strange, considering how out of vogue his style was for years. I think it's a combination of praise from famous American directors, and the fact that 'slow cinema' made a big comeback last decade.

[@lamentate07]

Not sure if there are no 'striking shots' but i agree that Tarr's work functions as a totality. You can't really pick his films apart and say 'this means this, or this means that'. However, i do think Tarr is being a little glib and evasive about the meaning of that hospital sequence. However, reading his films as political allegories doesn't do them justice, as the things he shows us in his films are universal problems that transcend time and place.

[@andymaracz7199]

I don`t think Feinstein understands what Tarr wants to say with his movies. There are no striking shots which try to visually impress you for the first time. Everything just lies behind, perfectly choreographed and timed, blended into seemingly most ordinary (often sinister) places, objects and characters. And you are watching and thinking how brilliant it is. The story is just one aspect. He is a genius of filmmaking.

[@PedroDominguesunus]

@giorgiomichello very precise observation. "beverly hills is also marginalized, because its not the society". uuuuuuuhhhhh.... right on the theet! Bela can be gracefully violent with his speech. this man has emotion pumping in his veins.

[@hattosahithero4001]

thanks bella tarr for not making tortures any more

[@lamentate07]

What exactly did you mean then? Because generally when people try to downplay individual shots, it's because they are speaking of a totality; a sense of 'wholeness' in the work itself that can't be reduced to its individual parts. No i haven't read his books.

[@andymaracz7199]

Well I agree with you to a certain extent but that`s not exactly what I meant. Have you read any books by Laszlo Krasznahorkai?

[@janchatko]

@cineasta71 Have you not enjoyed this clip? Would Bela Tarr make it himself, with no invitation and external (even from a 'non-thinker' (?)) questioning? Why did he agree to do the interview if journalism and criticism is such a lowly thing?

[@peterjanoshazi7519]

Can somebody please interpret for me what Bela is saying at 1:04:47? Can't catch it.

[@eliza8326]

I think he's saying "he shows you now one of the most powerful scenes and afterwards you don't come and watch"

[@henrix999]

Yes, that would be it, thank you!

[@Waferdicing]

😎

[@agapeiron]

How are his scenes artificial? Do you think maybe your conception of a metaphysical question is different from the connotation of metaphysics he doesn't want associated with his work?

[@waroidot]

No doubt, he is a great director and his films are intricately beautiful portrays of the human kind but to be honest, I'm not quite sure how and why he earned his cult status in world cinema.

[@ukasz9471]

Fuck off twat

[@juanomocasin2679]

Diogo Fernandes: Con ese apellido y ni siquiera te molestas en contestar en castellano, idioma que veo que entiendes perfectamente. Lo que probablemente significa que no reconozcas o reniegues de tus raíces. Tal vez puedas ver en esto uno de los motivos por el cual jamás vas a comprender un solo fotograma de lo que filma Bela Tarr.

[@diogofernandes9474]

In fact I don't look at films one frame at a time, so I can't "understand" them. I let such things to the great experts. If you had read what I wrote and when I wrote it, you would know already what are my "roots", but well, perhaps you are too concentrated with understanding Bela Tarr's films to be able to solve such childish questions. Have a nice understanding!

[@oriza2]

most people comment here, that H.F. should have just let B. Tarr talk about the films and not talk about his conceptions..... TOTALLY WRONG! 1. H.F. is a host here. So he MUST talk, he must create the background and form of discussion and he must direct the whole thing some way. 2. If he was just asking Tarr to talk about the movies, Tarr would have never done that. It looks silly and he hates that. "Mr Artist please tell us what you think and what you try to explain with this scene ......." Instead he made Tarr really pissed off, and he was so pissed off at times, that he really started to explain things, what he barely ever does. So I must say, H.F. found - probably not consciously - the best way to get out something from a specially talented but not that talkative director.

[@Existentialexplosion]

I feel very bad for the interviewer, he seems to feel so uneasy after a while. Very tough interview

[@EmilyRose0]

I not say i aree with him but i always have the feeling that bela wants him to be wrong and disagrees on purpose. Its his right to have another interpretation/guess of this works. Even if he is totally right about the wreckmeister szene belar needs to disagree first and tell his joke about the wall. He seems unkomfortable, he cant just accept that somebody just admires him and be just nice instead he is little rude.

[@JoeLBlack707]

..so let`s begin our film makers MONOLOG..oh man!

[@chrislandaverdedf]

Is this a show of a critic showing off in presence of the auteur????

[@udubidub]

Nobody tells a creator.

[@erisen960]

Squicking of his coat worths more then the whole work of Michael Bay. :-) 22:00 That awkward laughing from Feinstein(22:15) is what about Béla said. The communist party is not very far from what USA's presidents do. Perfect. 35:44 :-) So true.

[@maricristinacastel]

I was annoyed by listening to this Feinstein dude. I will get just Tarr's parts, I don't think it will damage the thing, since this is actually not entirely a dialogue. 7:29 Long monologues 9:16 I want to say one thing 10:17 - 10:32 They have human life 16:10 18:30 21:01 watch the movie again! 22:01 23:59 29:20 41:59 47:02 56:06 1:00:37 1:02:13 1:04:45 1:13:14 1:14:32 1:16:35

[@Mezzarim]

this interview start on a waste of time and a bad note. Bela is kind O.O

[@chrislandaverdedf]

Is this an interview or a cult? ...or the record of a Critic's show off?

[@mediaaccess2]

I love your stuff. I linked this vid to one on my blog. Search for Tarr Béla on it. I had my blog professionally translated into Hungarian: Google: (RTL Klub +) A TV2 és Király család átverés (a Caramel, Radics Gigi, Fekete Dávid, Nguyen Thanh Hien, Friderikusz, stb. belekeveredésükkel kapcsolatban is) - a szervezett bűnözés leleplezése - Tóth Lüszi emlékére. Google: (RTL Klub +) The TV2 and Király Family Scam (in Connection with Caramel, Radics Gigi, Fekete Dávid, Nguyen Thanh Hien, Friderikusz's, and other's involvement as well) - Organized Crime Exposed - In Memory of Tóth Lüszi

[@elenabailaalbrizzi]

Feinstein only makes Béla more and more brilliant and less himself ✩

[@Stress-Free-Gaming]

Definitely Feinstein didn't get it :)

[@immachanguropinin1110]

IMDb is shit 35:30

[@OLGALAZINDr]

Hehehehe, this is socialism; get it?! This is what Vikot Roban is promising to the people.

[@ERRATICCHEESE2]

Feinstein's out of his depth. Tarr disagrees with everything he says, privately.

[@thprmr]

@kocourhospoda To be honest, I do think the film critique was very arrogant. The problem is that if you're an artist, showing your work to the world, you can't say things that way even if you're right. He could have said something like "I can understand your point of view, but that's not mine" and avoid saying that stupid shit he said.

[@davidsanderson5918]

I'm not interested in this critic's point of view. Shut up!! Let's hear Tarr speak.

[@MrMisticoMagico]

Wondering when this coward will accept he tortured and killed a cat for his decadent "aesthetic" purposes.

[@HerbalistGuybrush]

Fuck that one cat

[@OLGALAZINDr]

Boooring, man. Get over this. The music doesn't cut it. Hulyeseg. Dr Lazin

[@diogofernandes9474]

I've seen at least a bit of almost every film maker's work from Louis Lumiere to today, and I totaly fail to grasp any content or satisfaction in this medíocre hungarian's work. He is original? So are most drunks... He's coming to my hometown for a few days, and I hope I don't even have to see him, let alone any of his "work".

[@lorimottaveiga]

uau, que grande argumento..

[@lorimottaveiga]

precisas é de ir descascar batatas

[@yearningthevoid]

You get it then; content is contingent, satisfaction is erratic and life is ultimately mediocre.

[@diogofernandes9474]

Hi D. João V, I enjoyed your answer. And I remembered Theatre of the Absurd, a 20th century artistic current in Theatre, perhaps Bela Tarr could be a part of something we may also call Cinema of the Absurd. Cinema of the Absurd didn't start with him though, surrealists were pioneers, and of course Luis Buñuel is a reference. But I get "content and satisfaction" out of Buñuel.

[@yearningthevoid]

That entails no explanation as to your animosity towards this mediocre hungarian's work - but it really doesn't matter, anyway.