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Béla Tarr

Béla Tarr

Producer, director, writer and actor · Died January 6, 2026, aged 70 · Pécs, Hungary

Béla Tarr (July 21, 1955 – January 6, 2026) was a Hungarian filmmaker. Much of his work is marked by philosophical elements and a pessimistic view of humanity. His films utilize unconventional storytelling methods, such as long takes and/or non-professional actors to achieve realism. Debuting with Family Nest in 1979, Tarr underwent a period of what he refers to as "social cinema", aimed at telling mundane stories about ordinary people, often in the style of cinema vérité. Over the next decade, the cinematography of Tarr's films gradually changed; Damnation (1988) was shot with languid camera movement aimed at establishing ambience. It marked Tarr's earliest experimentation with philosophical themes, focused mostly on bleak and desolate representations of reality. Sátántangó (1994) and Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) continued this approach; both are considered by some critics to be among the greatest films ever made. Tarr would later compete in the 2007 Cannes Film Festival with his film The Man From London. Frequent collaborators of Tarr include his wife Ágnes Hranitzky, novelist László Krasznahorkai, film composer Mihály Víg, cinematographer Fred Kelemen, and actress Erika Bók. After the release of his film The Turin Horse (2011), Tarr announced his definitive retirement from film direction. He has been teaching at the Sarajevo Film School since. Tarr died on 6 January 2026 following a long and serious illness.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
July 21, 1955
Died
January 6, 2026 (aged 70)
From
Pécs, Hungary
Works as
Producer, director, writer and actor
Titles
11 on MovieCove · 58 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 63 days to Oct 26Down 29% in 30 days

What are Béla Tarr's films like?

Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Society.

Genres

Drama5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 95th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Crime2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 88th percentile
: browse their Crime movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
24%
Society
18%
Power
18%
Ideas
15%
Survival
11%
Self
8%
Morality
6%
Isolation3 titles, browse their movies with this themeMarriage2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCorruption2 titles, browse their movies with this themeHope2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 9 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 2 · Serious 0 · Dark 7

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 2 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 5

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 3 · Intense 4

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 8 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 1

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 1 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 3

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 2 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 6

Ambiguous: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their ambiguous movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 2 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 6

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Melancholic
8
Dread
4
Tense
4
Contemplative
2
Warm
2
Other
4

How their films linger

Haunting7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteDevastating2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Bittersweet1
  • Tragic3
  • Ambiguous5

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Béla Tarr's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Subscription and free streaming for Béla Tarr's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

58 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page; 5 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • First Lesson (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Actor

  • Stars of Little Importance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Executive Producer

  • Lullaby for the Mountains (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Executive Producer

  • Living Stones (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Executive Producer

  • Rumours(2024)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films

  • El Vaquero(2024)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Árni (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Creative Producer

  • Coda (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Producer

  • Deer Bell (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Producer

  • Isten hozott (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Thanks

  • Letters from the Ends of the World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Producer

  • Lamb(2021)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • Paola Makes a Wish (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Producer

  • Missing People (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Director

  • A Country Divided (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Actor

  • The Tree (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Thanks

  • The Confidence-Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Executive Producer

  • Aragane (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Consulting Producer

  • Muhamed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director · Writer

  • Man in the Well (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Producer

  • The Parrot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Thanks

  • Lost in Bosnia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Executive Producer

  • Tuga (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Producer

  • Conniving (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Producer

  • Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen(2012)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Hungary 2011 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Producer

  • The State That I Am Fish (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    as Béla Tarr

  • The Turin Horse(2011)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • The Man from London(2007)

    Director · Associate Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Fragment (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Producer

  • Johanna (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Producer

  • Prologue (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director

  • Visions of Europe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director

  • Parola (su una data) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Werckmeister Harmonies(2000)

    Director · Associate Producer · Co-Writer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • György Fehér's Films According to Béla Tarr (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director

  • Passion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Writer

  • Journey on the Plain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Director

  • Satantango(1994)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Twilight(1990)

    Consulting Producer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • City Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Director

  • The Last Boat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    Director · Writer

  • Damnation(1988)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Season of Monsters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    as Jesus as Mental Patient

  • Autumn Almanac (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Director · Writer

  • The Doctor's Pupil (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)

    Actor

  • The Prefab People(1982)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Macbeth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Director · Screenplay

  • The Outsider (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Director · Writer

  • Diplomafilm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Director · Script

  • Family Nest (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Director · Writer

  • Cinemarxism (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Director

  • Hotel Magnezit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    Director · Writer

  • Iván Iljics halála (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    as Vászja (as Tar Béla)

  • Be Water My Friend (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Consulting Accountant

  • Coda (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Il vento del cinema (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Actor

  • Places Half Empty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Executive Producer

Career shape

A full career of 58 titles, 54 of them dated from 1965 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Lamb (2021)

$3.2M worldwide

Highest rated

Satantango (1994)

Midcredits 97th

Most popular right now

Lamb (2021)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting8 of 58: 8 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting21 of 58: 7 only directing, 14 with another role · typical Midcredits score95thWriting15 of 58: 2 only writing, 13 with another role · typical Midcredits score95thProducing23 of 58: 21 only producing, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score87thOther crew7 of 58: 6 only other crew, 1 with another role

58 titles, 14 with more than one role — producing and directing overlap on 2 of them.

By decade

1960s1 · acting1970s3 · crew1980s8 · 2 acting · 6 crew1990s6 · crew2000s8 · 1 acting · 7 crew2010s16 · 2 acting · 14 crew2020s12 · 1 acting · 11 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Béla Tarr's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 90th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 94th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

94thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Approval · how many liked their films

90thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Reach · how many have seen their films

86thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Midcredits score across 11 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up9
  • 50th to 74th1
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 11 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved4
  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed1

Most loved · director, writer

Satantango (1994)

Midcredits 97th · 84% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 85/100 and the pacing 33/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Béla Tarr's work okay for kids?

Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore4 titlesmedian 48 · moderateMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity6 titles17–70 · median 46 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity4 titlesmedian 35 · moderateMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs4 titlesmedian 33 · mildMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense4 titlesmedian 63 · intenseMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Béla Tarr work with?

People who share at least 2 of Béla Tarr's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Ágnes Hranitzky shares the most, 7.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers

Producers

Mixed roles