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One of the most hotly-anticipated titles at this year’s Venice Film Festival is Tár, a dark drama that stars the great Cate Blanchett as Lydia Tár, a trailblazing female conductor and composer, and the first-ever female conductor of a major German orchestra. The film, which premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, marks director Todd Field’s first picture since 2006’s Little Children, and he penned it specifically for Blanchett.
“It wasn’t written with Cate Blanchett in mind—it was written for Cate Blanchett,” said Field at the film’s Venice press conference.
Tár explores all facets of the conductor’s life, including her love affairs with two female musicians under her. It marks the second time of late, after 2015’s Carol, that Blanchett will be riding a wave of Oscar buzz for a layered portrait of a gay woman.