Tár (2022) Best Movie Quotes

Copyright Notice: It’s easy to see when our selected quotes have been copied and pasted, as you’re also copying our format, mistakes, and movie scene descriptions. If you decide to copy from us please be kind and either link back, or refer back to our site. Please check out our copyright policies here. Thanks!

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Noémie Merlant, Nina Hoss, Sophie Kauer, Julian Glover, Allan Corduner, Mark Strong, Sylvia Flote

OUR RATING: ★★★½

Story:

Bio-drama written and directed by Todd Field. set in the international world of classical music, Tár (2022) centers on Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett), widely considered one of the greatest living composer/conductors and first-ever female chief conductor of a major German orchestra.

Our Favorite Quotes:

'If you want to dance the mask, you must service the composer. You got to sublimate yourself, your ego, and, yes, your identity. You must, in fact, stand in front of the public and God and obliterate yourself.' - Lydia Tár Click To Tweet

Best Quotes

Adam Gopnik: If you’re here, then you already know who she is, and that is one of the most important musical figures of our time. Lydia Tár is many things.

Adam Gopnik: [referring to Lydia] She’s been quoted as saying, “These composers are having a conversation and it may not always be so polite.”

Adam Gopnik: Lydia, could we talk a little bit about translation? Because I think there’s still people who think of the conductor as a kind of human metronome.
Lydia Tár: Well, yeah, that’s partly true. But keeping time, it’s no small thing.
Adam Gopnik: But I suspect there’s a lot more to it than that.
Lydia Tár: Yeah. Well, I would hope so, yes.

Lydia Tár: Time is the thing. Time is the essential piece of interpretation. You cannot start without me. See, I start the clock. Now, my left hand, it shapes, but my right hand, the second hand, marks time and moves it forward. However, unlike a clock, sometimes my second hand stops, which means that time stops. Now, the illusion is that like you, I’m responding to the orchestra in real time, making the decision about the right moment to restart the thing, or reset it, or throw time out the window altogether. The reality is, that right from the very beginning I know precisely what time it is, and the exact moment that you and I will arrive at our destination together.

Lydia Tár: But, as I said before, we are dealing with time. And this piece was not born into aching tragedy. It was born into young love.
Adam Gopnik: And so you chose…
Lydia Tár: Love.
Adam Gopnik: Right. But precisely how long?
Lydia Tár: Well, seven minutes.

Whitney Reese: Do you ever find yourself overwhelmed by emotion when you’re up there at the podium?
Lydia Tár: Yes. Yes, it does happen. There’s an expectation reward cycle with some works and the spots in them that I find so incredible, that when I’m conducting, it’s not that I’m rushing exactly, but, I just can’t wait to get to that spot. And, yeah, it does it. It does it every time.
Whitney Reese: So it’s physical as well as emotional.

Lydia Tár: You know, it’s not until I conducted it that I became convinced we’re all capable of murder.

Eliot Kaplan: Money can’t always buy you everything.
Lydia Tár: You don’t really believe that.

'Time is the thing. Time is the essential piece of interpretation.' - Lydia Tár Click To Tweet

Lydia Tár: Trust me, you do not want to go to school on someone else’s red and blue pencil. Least of all, mine.
Eliot Kaplan: Oh, but I do.

Lydia Tár: There’s no glory for a robot, Eliot. Do your own thing.

Lydia Tár: I agree about the tension part. Now, you can intellectually contemplate, or masturbate, about the felicity of the so-called “atonal”, but the important question here is, what are you conducting? What is the effect? What is it actually doing to me? Good music can be as ornate as a cathedral, or bare as a potting shed, so long as it allows you to answer both those questions.

Lydia Tár: The intent of her composition is vague, to say the least. So, if her intent is vague, how do you, as a conductor, have a point of view about anything? Now, to be fair, I mean, there are times when you will simply have no choice. And you will be made to stand in front of an orchestra and pretend that there are these invisible structures.

Lydia Tár: But my prayer for you is that you will be spared the embarrassment of standing on the podium with a 4’33”, trying to sell a car without an engine. Because now, my friends, now is the time to conduct music that actually requires something of you. You know, music that everybody knows, but will hear differently when you interpret it for them.

'There's no glory for a robot. Do your own thing.' - Lydia Tár Click To Tweet

Lydia Tár: [referring to Bach] But I’m sorry, I’m unclear as to what his prodigious skills in the marital bed have to do with B minor. Sure. Alright, whatever. That’s your choice. I mean, after all, “a soul selects her own society”. But remember, the flip side of that selection closes the valves of one’s attention.

Lydia Tár: Now, of course, siloing what is acceptable, or not acceptable is a basic construct of many, if not most, symphony orchestras today, who see it as their imperial right to curate for the cretins.

Lydia Tár: Can classical music, written by a bunch of straight, Austro-German, churchgoing white guys exalt us, individually as well as collectively, and who, may I ask, gets to decide that?

Lydia Tár: There’s a humility in Bach. He’s not pretending he’s certain about anything. Because he knows that it’s always the question that involves the listener. It’s never the answer, right?

'Good music can be as ornate as a cathedral, or bare as a potting shed.' - Lydia Tár Click To Tweet

Lydia Tár: Don’t be so eager to be offended. The narcissism of small differences leads to the most boring conformity.

Lydia Tár: But you see, the problem with enrolling yourself as an ultrasonic epistemic dissident is that if Bach’s talent can be reduced to his gender, birth country, religion, sexuality, and so on, then so can yours.

Max: You’re a f***ing b**ch.
Lydia Tár: And you are a robot. I mean, unfortunately, the architect of your soul appears to be social media. You want to dance the mask, you must service the composer. You got to sublimate yourself, your ego, and, yes, your identity. You must, in fact, stand in front of the public and God and obliterate yourself.

Francesca Lentini: I received another weird email from Krista. How should I reply?
Lydia Tár: Don’t.
Francesca Lentini: Well, this one felt especially desperate.
Lydia Tár: [in German] Hope dies last.

Sharon Goodnow: [to Lydia] I’m worried about Petra. She’s starting to disappear into herself.

'It's always the question that involves the listener. It's never the answer.' - Lydia Tár Click To Tweet

Andris Davis: How is the writing going?
Lydia Tár: Ah, I never know how to answer that question. Makes it sound like a physical act. Like how’s the s**tting going?

Andris Davis: How’s the thinking going?
Lydia Tár: Yeah, not so well. I keep hearing something and getting excited only to catch myself in pastiche.
Andris Davis: Well, it’s all pastiche. We all have the same musical grammar.

Andris Davis: I’m proud to call you my pupil, even though there was really nothing I could teach you.
Lydia Tár: Now, that’s not true. I’d never have the position here were it not for you.
Andris Davis: Then you’d be in London, New York.
Lydia Tár: They’re not Berlin.

Andris Davis: Schopenhauer measured a man’s intelligence against his sensitivity to noise.
Lydia Tár: Didn’t he once also throw a woman down a flight of stairs who later sued him?
Andris Davis: Yes. Although, it’s unclear that this private and private and personal failing is at all relevant to his work.

'Don't be so eager to be offended. The narcissism of small differences leads to the most boring conformity.' - Lydia Tár Click To Tweet

Lydia Tár: I need someone to hold me.
Francesca Lentini: This isn’t the place, Francesca.

Francesca Lentini: [referring to the article about Krista committing suicide] I just got this from someone over at Accordion.
Lydia Tár: Oh, no. When did this happen?
Francesca Lentini: Day before yesterday. That email she sent you, it felt like she was already…
Lydia Tár: Delete it. And the rest. There’s no reason to get caught up in any intrigue.

'Hope dies last.' - Lydia Tár Click To Tweet

Lydia Tár: [to Francesca, referring to Krista committing suicide] There’s nothing we could have done to stop her. She wasn’t one of us.

Lydia Tár: [referring to Krista] There was just something not quite right about her.
Francesca Lentini: She had so much promise.
Lydia Tár: She did.
Francesca Lentini: Yes.
Lydia Tár: Almost as much as you. Now, we have to forget about her. Do you understand?

'There's no limit to the different kinds of feelings music can make you have. And some of those feelings are so special, and so deep, that they can't even be described in words.' - Leonard Bernstein (Tár) Click To Tweet

Sebastian Brix: [after Lydia tells him he is to be replaced] But this is my home.
Lydia Tár: Our only home is the podium. We all live out of a suitcase.

Sebastian Brix: You’re not asking. You’re telling. I knew as soon as she showed up that my days here were numbered. Andris told me not to worry, but I knew.
Lydia Tár: I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Sebastian Brix: Oh, please. Just because nobody dares breathe it. We know the things you do. The little favors you grant.

'Music is movement, always going somewhere, shifting, and changing, and flowing from one note to another. And that movement can tell us more about the way we feel than a million words can.' - Leonard Bernstein (Tár) Click To Tweet

Sebastian Brix: Please, Maestro. Please forgive me.
Lydia Tár: For what? Your obsequiousness? Your hypocrisy? Your misogamy?
Sebastian Brix: I’m not a misogynist!
Lydia Tár: Misogamy. It’s a hatred of marriage.

Lydia Tár: Francesca, you did as I asked and deleted any and all correspondence with Krista, correct?
Francesca Lentini: I’m not sure. I’m not sure. I’ll double-check.

See more Tár Quotes

Britta Menges: [after being told about Krista’s suicide] Apparently, some accusations have been made.
Lydia Tár: Accusations? What kind of accusations?
Britta Menges: He didn’t say. But they were brought to Accordion’s counsel. Mr. Kaplan said he’s certain nothing will come of it, but one can’t be too careful.

Lydia Tár: Andris, have you ever had an issue with a student, or colleague, where that person may have misinterpreted your intention?
Andris Davis: Has someone been complaining about me?
Lydia Tár: No, no, no. Of course not.
Andris Davis: Because at this point, they’ve missed their chance. I’m out of the game.

Andris Davis: Well, nowadays, to be accused is the same as being guilty.

Lydia Tár: [to Francescsa] I have made a decision regarding Sebastian’s replacement. And I want you to know it wasn’t an easy one. This position brings with it enormous responsibility, and my personal affection for you aside, I will have to go with someone more experienced.

Sharon Goodnow: [referring to Francesca resigning] I know how much you depended on her.
Lydia Tár: Two-faced little b**ch.
Sharon Goodnow: Imagine her hurt, Tár.
Lydia Tár: Don’t you dare try to defend her.
Sharon Goodnow: God, slow down!
Lydia Tár: She’ll come galumphing back. I mean, I’ve got a dumb phone like every robot. How hard can it be to text all day?

Lydia Tár: “What the hell happened to her face? Did she schedule a nose and eye job and bail before the surgeon finished the other half?” No. I was attacked.

Lydia Tár: It’s a hatchet job.
Britta Menges: I’m sure that’s true, Lydia. And were it just this video, we would not be sitting here. Unfortunately, it’s linked to an article in the New York Post regarding Krista Taylor’s suicide, which alludes to other Accordion fellows they claim to have interviewed.

Lydia Tár: And so far as Krista Taylor goes, she was disturbed. I mean, she fixated on me.

Eliot Kaplan: I’m sorry to say this is likely the last time we’ll see each other.
Lydia Tár: Well, now I can buy my own plane tickets. And you can bother someone else to try and teach you to crawl to the podium.

Lydia Tár: [reading from her book] “Indeed, the common metaphors used to explain music are based on the idea that music is a language, albeit a secret one. And in this way, holy and unknowable. These joyful noises we make being the closest thing any of us might ever experience to the divine, yet something born by the mere act of moving air. No different than birdsong.”

Lydia Tár: God, a nobody who has nothing better to do than drop my name at lunch and imply things.
Sharon Goodnow: I feel sorry for you.
Lydia Tár: Save it.

Sharon Goodnow: There are many things I accept about you. And in the end, I’m sure I could get over something like this. But that’s not what we’re talking about, is it? These accusations from the parents of the girl who suicided?
Lydia Tár: You honestly believe what they’re saying? They’re lies.

Sharon Goodnow: It’s got nothing to do with what they’re accusing you of. It’s a simple matter of not warning me that our family is in danger.
Lydia Tár: And what good would that have done? I mean, what could you possibly do to make things better?
Sharon Goodnow: Because I deserve that. Those are the rules. You are to ask for my f***ing counsel, the way you always have.

Lydia Tár: How cruel of you to define our relationship as transactional.
Sharon Goodnow: There’s only one relationship you’ve ever had that wasn’t. And she is sleeping in the room next door. Apparently, this hasn’t even crossed your mind.

Anna Franzen: I’m sorry to trouble you, but my husband and I are selling the place and couldn’t help hearing the music.
Lydia Tár: Oh. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Anna’s Husband: We were wondering if there are specific hours you rehearse, so we can schedule showings around them.
Estate Agent: We don’t want to scare potential buyers off with all the noise.
Lydia Tár: Oh, no. No. No, we wouldn’t want that.

Lydia Tár: This is my score.
Eliot Kaplan: Lydia, you’re confused.
Lydia Tár: [as she punches Eliot in the face] It’s my score! You f***ing little nothing!

Jake Russell: [to Lydia] Well, right now it’s a reset. What we’re after is less, not more. We want to be selective and rebuild this from the ground up. That means we need a new story.

Leonard Bernstein: [as Lydia watches old tapes of him] We know what music means now. And we don’t have to know a lot of stuff about sharps, and flats, and chords, and all that business in order to understand music if it tells us something. And the most wonderful thing of all is that there’s no limit to the different kinds of feelings music can make you have. And some of those feelings are so special, and so deep, that they can’t even be described in words.

Leonard Bernstein: You see, we can’t always name the things we feel. Sometimes we can. We can say we feel joy, pleasure, peacefulness, whatever, love, hate. But every once in a while, we have feelings that are so deep and so special that we have no words for them. And that’s where music is so marvelous, because music names them for us, only in notes instead of in words. It’s all in the way music moves.

Leonard Bernstein: You must never forget that music is movement, always going somewhere, shifting, and changing, and flowing from one note to another. And that movement can tell us more about the way we feel than a million words can.

Tony Tarr: Hi, Linda. Sorry. Lydia. Ma said you’d be over. You must be hiding out.
Lydia Tár: Why would I be hiding out?
Tony Tarr: Beats the hell out of me. None of my business anyhow.

Tony Tarr: [to Lydia] You don’t seem to know where the hell you came from, or where you’re going.

Lydia Tár: [in Thailand] Maybe we could stop somewhere and take a swim.
Cirio: Yeah, at the waterfall. But not in the river.
Lydia Tár: Why? Is there something wrong with the water?
Cirio: No. There are crocodiles.
Lydia Tár: Oh. I didn’t think they’d be this far inland.
Cirio: They escaped from Marlon Brando movie.
Lydia Tár: Wow. That was a long time ago.
Cirio: They survive.

Announcer: [as Lydia conducts the orchestra for a Monster Hunter cosplay convention] Sisters and brothers of the Fifth Fleet, it’s time. I’ll keep my farewell brief. Never was much with words. Once you board this ship, there’s no turning back. The next ground your feet touch will be that of the New World. If any of you have lost your nerve, then step away now and let no one judge you.

Trailer: