The trailer is surreal, mixing Blanchett’s voice-over with a mix of beautiful and jarring imagery that, if nothing else, gives the viewer an idea of the tone of the film. Blanchett, as Tár, explains that she can “control time” with her hand, and we see her conducting an orchestra and bringing them to silence, stopping time in her own way. The trailer plays heavily with sound, combining cacophonous noises like children screaming into actual harmonies, and it’s pretty stinking cool. There’s also a lot of playing around with a metronome, which is that odd little triangular box that keeps time for musicians with its maddening clicking sounds. (I’m fairly certain that everyone who has ever played in a big band or orchestra has wanted to throw one of those things across the room. I know I have.)
Here’s the official synopsis from Focus Features:
“The film, set in the international world of classical music, centers on Lydia Tár, widely considered one of the greatest living composer/conductors and first-ever female chief conductor of a major German orchestra.”
Blanchett fans won’t have too long to wait to see her latest, as the film will debut at the Venice Film Festival before making its American theatrical run beginning on October 7, 2022. If this doesn’t earn her a third Oscar, I don’t know what will.
