Film at Lincoln Center announces that Béla Tarr will make a special appearance to present four films from his acclaimed filmography, three of which are new restorations, from June 12–13 in the Walter Reade Theater. Tickets will go on sale on Friday, June 2 at noon, with an early access period for FLC Members starting now. Learn more here. The Film at Lincoln Center program follows co-presenter American Cinematheque’s Los Angeles In-Person Retrospective with the filmmaker: “Boundless Damnation: The Films of Béla Tarr.”

Few filmmakers have made as great an impact on world cinema as Béla Tarr, yet despite the enormous praise given to him by critics and filmmakers as varied as Susan Sontag, Jim Jarmusch, and Gus Van Sant, his films have remained relatively difficult to see, especially on the big screen. He began making amateur documentaries at the age of 16, and at the age of 22 began shooting his 1979 feature debut, Family Nest, made with nonprofessional actors in a stark, realist style. His work made a dramatic shift with his 1983 video adaptation of Macbeth, which comprises only two shots. In subsequent films, Tarr developed a durational aesthetic revolving around extended shot lengths, most famously in 1994’s Sátántangó, a film heavily influential in both the film and art worlds of which Susan Sontag said, “I’d be glad to see it every year for the rest of my life.” Across his entire body of work, Tarr has established himself as one of the defining filmmakers of a generation and one of the greatest innovators in contemporary cinema. FLC is proud to present screenings of four of Tarr’s most impactful films, and to welcome the legendary director in person for Q&As.

In addition to the previously announced 4K restoration of Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky’s Werckmeister Harmonies, currently playing daily at FLC, the series includes Family Nest, a new 2K restoration of Tarr’s striking debut feature about a seven-member family sharing a small apartment during a national housing crisis that offers a pungent critique of patriarchy in all its forms; The Man From London, a prime example of Tarr’s utterly distinctive vision, baleful and radiant and as voluptuous as it is bleak, about a railway switchman who retrieves a suitcase filled with stolen money; and a new 2K restoration of The Outsider, Tarr’s gritty second feature, a finely wrought portrait of everyday despair that follows an aimless young musician drifting through a series of jobs—and women—in a Budapest that offers little possibility of la vie bohème.

Organized by Florence Almozini and Dan Sullivan. Co-presented with the American Cinematheque and Janus Films.

Acknowledgments:
Special thanks to Chris Lemaire and Grant Moninger, American Cinematheque; Emily Woodburne, Janus Films; Amila Ramovic and Béla Tarr.

Tickets will go on sale on Friday, June 2 at noon, with an early access period for FLC Members available now. Tickets are $17; $14 for students, seniors (62+), and persons with disabilities; and $12 for FLC Members. Learn more here.

FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS
Films will screen at the Walter Reade Theater (165 W. 65th St)
A full schedule can be found below.

Werckmeister Harmonies
Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky, 2000, Hungary/Italy/Germany/France, 145m
Hungarian with English subtitles

Werckmeister Harmonies. Courtesy of Janus Films.

Three years in the making, Werckmeister Harmonies is a sustained, real-time immersion in the universe of weatherbeaten villages and full-contact metaphysics in which co-directors Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky and writer László Krasznahorkai specialize. A curiously smart paper carrier named János (Lars Rudolph, in an astonishingly complex performance) observes a mysterious traveling circus—complete with a stuffed whale—that comes to town and marks a sea change in relationships of all kinds between families, lovers, peasants, and royals. In this movie, voted one of the best of its decade by Film Comment, each action, however small, carries the weight of revolution. With Fassbinder icon Hanna Schygulla. New 4K restoration. A Janus Films release.
Monday, June 12 at 6:00pm (Introduction by and Q&A with Béla Tarr) & Playing Daily at FLC

The Man from London
Béla Tarr, 2007, Hungary/France/Germany, 135m
35mm
French and English with English subtitles

The Man From London.

In his penultimate film, the Hungarian master brings his formidable stylistic arsenal—a combination of impossibly choreographed camera moves, astonishingly precise chiaroscuro lighting, and hypnotic wordless scenes—to bear on a Georges Simenon thriller about a railway switchman who retrieves a suitcase filled with stolen money. Tarr is a spellbinder, and the wharves and alleys of the unnamed port where he sets this drama of guilt and greed are broodingly apocalyptic. The Man from London is a prime example of Tarr’s utterly distinctive vision, baleful and radiant and as voluptuous as it is bleak. Featuring Tilda Swinton as the railman’s unsettled wife.
Monday, June 12 at 9:30pm (Introduction by Béla Tarr)

Family Nest
Béla Tarr, 1979, Hungary, 108m
Hungarian with English subtitles

Family Nest.

Tarr’s striking debut feature, begun when he was 22, has been likened to the work of John Cassavetes and Ken Loach for its warts-and-all snapshot of a seven-member family sharing a small apartment during a national housing crisis. The overcrowding puts particular pressure on the marriage of Laci, a soldier newly discharged from the army, and his wife, Irén, who spends her days searching in vain for a home of their own—and an escape from Laci’s belligerent father. Impressively acted by a cast of mostly nonprofessional actors, Family Nest offers a pungent critique of patriarchy in all its forms, and early evidence of Tarr’s innate mastery of the moving image. New 2K restoration. A Janus Films release.
Tuesday, June 13 at 6:00pm (Q&A with Béla Tarr)

The Outsider
Béla Tarr, 1981, Hungary, 122m
Hungarian with English subtitles

The Outsider.

In Tarr’s gritty second feature, a continuation of the social inquiry begun in Family Nest, aimless young musician András (András Szabó) drifts through a series of jobs—and women—in a Budapest that offers little possibility of la vie bohème. In a bar, he meets Kata (Jolan Fodor) and the two soon marry, despite their limited means and the fact that András already has a child from a previous relationship. They do not live happily ever after. A finely wrought portrait of everyday despair, The Outsider pulls us deeply into the lives of ordinary people struggling to survive in a society that can find no place for them. New 2K restoration. A Janus Films release.
Tuesday, June 13 at 9:00pm (Introduction by Béla Tarr)

AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE

Established in 1984, the American Cinematheque is a member-supported 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural arts organization dedicated to building an engaged film community through immersive film curation, conversation, and presentation. The American Cinematheque celebrates the film-going experience at the core of its mission. Since it first began showing films in theaters in 1985, the American Cinematheque has provided a wide range of film programming, with both new and repertory cinema, hosting screenings, panels and special events with thousands of filmmakers. The AC showcases over a thousand films a year in Los Angeles; it connects the filmmaker to the audience and film history to its future. Presenting in 35mm, 70mm, rare nitrate, and state-of-the-art digital. For more information, visit, http://americancinemaheque.com.