Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr known for bleak, existential movies has died

"Bela Tarr, the Hungarian arthouse director best known for his bleak, existential and challenging films, including Satantango and Werckmeister Harmonies, has died at the age of 70. The Hungarian Filmmakers' Association shared a statement on Tuesday announcing Tarr's passing after a serious illness, but did not specify further details. Tarr was born in communist-era Hungary in 1955 and made his filmmaking debut in 1979 with Family Nest, the first of nine feature films that would culminate in his 2011 film The Turin Horse."

"The epic drama, following a Hungarian village facing the fallout of communism, is best known for its length, clocking in at seven-and-a-half hours. Based on the novel by Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature last year and frequently collaborated with Tarr, the film became a touchstone for the "slow cinema" movement, with Tarr joining the ranks of directors such as Andrei Tarkovsky, Chantal Akerman and Theo Angelopoulos."

Bela Tarr died at age 70 after a serious illness, as announced by the Hungarian Filmmakers' Association. He was born in communist-era Hungary in 1955 and began filmmaking in 1979 with Family Nest, the first of nine feature films culminating in 2011's The Turin Horse. Damnation (1988) brought global attention and shifted his career toward international film festivals. His films are marked by bleak, existential themes, black-and-white cinematography and unusually long sequences. Satantango (1994), a seven-and-a-half-hour adaptation of Laszlo Krasznahorkai's novel, became a touchstone of slow cinema. Werckmeister Harmonies (2000), co-directed with Agnes Hranitzky, displayed only 39 shots over two-and-a-half hours.

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