How to watch Tár
How can viewers in the UK watch the film?
Since its premiere at last year's Venice Film Festival, Todd Field's film Tár has been lauded by critics as one of the best films of the year and has bagged six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
The movie follows Blanchett's Lydia Tár, a renowned musician and conductor whose life is upended when she is caught in the midst of a cancel culture storm just as she is preparing for a career-defining live recording of Mahler's 5th Symphony.
The film might have received strong reviews but it has also come under fierce criticism from some quarters, with leading conductor Marin Alsop previously labelling it “anti-woman”.
Responding to Alsop’s comments, Field told RadioTimes.com: "I mean, we spoke to a lot of conductors, female and male. And you know, I share her concern in terms of the fact that there's never been a female conductor of a major German orchestra so that itself makes this a fairy tale. There's never been a female conductor of one of the big five American orchestras. Why is that?
"And so I think it's an important question, I think it's important to understand it," he continued. "But again, this is not... you know, it's important that this character knows her onions and the conversation revolves around this milieu, but that's really not what the film is about, the film is about power – our hope was to invite an audience in to ask their own questions and have their own opinions, and everyone's entitled to them."
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He added: "That's kind of what we were after, in terms of power, as far as I know, is genderless. And so we're all very familiar with patriarchal abuse of power, we don't read about female persons or lesbian persons every day abusing power, and there's a reason for that – men have held it forever.
"And so hopefully, by having this character not be a male, it might afford the opportunity to look at power for what it is, which is something that anyone that touches it is going to be corrupted [by]."
Read on for everything you need to know about how to watch the controversial movie in the UK.
Where to watch Tár in the UK
Tár is currently showing in cinemas across the UK, having been released on 13th January 2o23.
This follows a wide US release which began in October 2022.
Is Tár available to stream online?
Yes, the film is available to stream on Peacock in the US.
A UK release date is yet to be announced.
In the meantime, however, UK fans can rent or purchase the movie on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, or YouTube.
What is Tár about?
The official synopsis for Tár says: "Lydia Tár is widely revered as an icon in the music world until her life begins to unravel in a singularly modern way. The result is an examination of power, and its impact and durability in today’s society."
The film sees Blanchett playing Tár, a fictional acclaimed conductor, and came in for criticism from real life conductor Marin Alsop who called it "anti-woman". She said: "I was offended as a woman, I was offended as a conductor, I was offended as a lesbian."
Field responded by telling RadioTimes.com: "We're all very familiar with patriarchal abuse of power, we don't read about female persons or lesbian persons every day abusing power, and there's a reason for that – men have held it forever.
"And so hopefully, by having this character not be a male, it might afford the opportunity to look at power for what it is, which is something that anyone that touches it is going to be corrupted [by]."
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Tár trailer
You can watch the trailer for Tár right here now.
Tár is now showing in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.
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