Time as an Ontological Medium
Geza:
In your films, time does not seem to carry the story; rather, it appears to be the material itself. Do you think of time as a tool, or as a condition of existence?
Béla Tarr:
Time is not a tool. A tool is something you use for something else. Time cannot be used. We are inside time. For me, cinema is not about organizing stories, but about creating situations—placing people inside a temporal state. If that works, narration becomes unnecessary. Time does the work.
Geza:
Many viewers experience this temporal state as “slowness.” Would you consider slowness an aesthetic choice?
Béla Tarr:
Slowness is a bad word. This is not slow; it simply does not hurry. Hurry is always a lie. The world is not fast. People want to be fast because they are afraid of time. I do not want to protect the viewer from this fear. If they stay, they understand that time is not an enemy, but a medium.
Geza:
In this sense, time becomes a resistant medium. The long take seems to suspend the control that viewers usually exercise.
Béla Tarr:
Exactly. Editing is power. The long take is responsibility. I do not tell you where to look or when to feel something. I give time. And if you give time to someone, you acknowledge their existence. This is an ethical question, not a formal one.
Geza:
In your films, time does not move forward but rather repeats, exhausts itself, deteriorates. Is this a conscious rejection of the idea of progress?
Béla Tarr:
I do not believe in progress. There is only change, and most change is decay. Look around. People make the same mistakes, only wearing different clothes. Time does not take us anywhere. Time runs out. That’s all.
Geza:
This “running out of time” seems close to an entropic model of time. Do you think the world operates more in thermodynamic than in historical terms?
Béla Tarr:
History is just an explanation after the fact. The world does not explain itself. The world functions. And as it functions, it gets tired. Sátántangó or The Turin Horse are not historical films. They are films about exhaustion. Time does not produce events; it produces depletion.
Geza:
Many interpret The Turin Horse as an apocalyptic film. Yet it seems less about an end point and more about the collapse of a temporal structure.
Béla Tarr:
The apocalypse is not an explosion. The apocalypse is silence. When there is nothing left to say, nothing left to do, only repetition with less and less energy. This is not an end, but timelessness. At the end of the film, people do not die; the time that sustained them disappears.
Geza:
In this sense, time is not a neutral dimension but the condition of being-with.
Béla Tarr:
Yes. Without time, there is no relationship. If you hurry, you do not see. If you do not see, you do not understand. If you do not understand, you become violent. Lack of time is always violence. That is why nothing human can be rushed.
Geza:
Music—especially the work with Mihály Víg—creates an almost cosmic rhythm. This time seems not psychological but cyclical.
Béla Tarr:
Human beings think too much of themselves. Music does not illustrate emotions; it gives rhythm. Rhythm does not come from the soul, but from the world—from wind, walking, repetition. Humans can only align with it, if they are allowed to.
Geza:
If you had to define time in one sentence, what would it be?
Béla Tarr:
Time is what cannot be explained, only endured. And if you remain inside it until the end, you might understand something about what it means to exist.
Time as an Ontological Medium in the Cinema of Béla Tarr
Béla Tarr’s films are frequently categorized within the framework of “slow cinema,” yet this classification is misleading insofar as it treats time as a stylistic parameter. Based on Tarr’s statements and the internal logic of his films, time functions not as a formal device but as an ontological medium in which existence, human and non-human alike, unfolds. This essay examines how, in Tarr’s work, time ceases to be a narrative structure and becomes instead an ethical and existential condition.
In Tarr’s cinema, narration is not a structuring principle but a secondary consequence. Story functions merely as a minimal framework that allows the experiential unfolding of time. This represents a radical break with classical cinematic logic, where time serves the chain of events.
Time in Tarr’s films is not represented but exposed. The viewer does not receive information but is compelled to remain within time. While this approach resonates with phenomenological conceptions of temporality, it ultimately exceeds them: it is not the temporal experience of consciousness that is at stake, but the resistance of time itself as an objective condition.
For Tarr, the long take is not a technical achievement but a moral decision. Editing functions as a means of controlling attention and, by extension, meaning. The long take withdraws this authorial power and grants time to both the viewer and the figures within the filmic world.
Here, time acquires an ethical dimension: to give time is to acknowledge existence. Conversely, the withdrawal of time constitutes ontological violence, structurally embedded in the acceleration of modern visual culture. Tarr’s films can thus be read as a critique of this acceleration.
Tarr’s conception of time is non-progressive. Time does not generate development but exhaustion. Repetition does not lead to renewal, but rather to a gradual loss of energy. This temporal model parallels the concept of entropy in thermodynamics: the system does not advance but wears itself out.
In this sense, Tarr’s works are “films of fatigue.” Time does not produce events; it produces depletion. The world does not change through dramatic turning points but becomes slowly, almost imperceptibly, unworkable.
The Turin Horse provides a particularly clear example of Tarr’s apocalyptic thinking. Apocalypse is not catastrophe but the gradual disappearance of time itself. Actions repeat, empty out, and eventually lose meaning. It is not the characters who die, but the time that had sustained them.
This conception of apocalypse is non-teleological: there is no final point, only de-temporalization. Apocalypse thus becomes not an event, but a state.
The rhythmic structure of Tarr’s films—shaped significantly by music—does not illustrate psychological emotion but situates the human within a larger, non-anthropocentric temporal order. Rhythm emerges from walking, wind, and repetition. Humans are not masters of this rhythm but subjects subjected to it.
This constitutes a radical critique of anthropocentric temporality. Time is not an internal structure of subjectivity but an external, indifferent medium that nevertheless determines all existence.
In Béla Tarr’s cinematic thought, time is neither a formal parameter, nor a narrative tool, nor a psychological experience, but an ontological condition. Time resists, exhausts itself, and carries ethical weight. Tarr’s films do not tell stories; they construct temporal states in which the viewer is forced to confront the fundamental fragility of existence.
In this sense, Tarr’s oeuvre is not merely of historical importance to cinema but contributes to the articulation of a non-narrative, non-teleological theory of time in artistic form.
Interesting fact: Life-path interview with Béla Tarr, with English subtitles.
The following lengthy correspondence preceded the email interview with Béla Tarr.
From: GEZA CSOSZ <GEZA.CSOSZ23@bathspa.ac.uk>
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2025 2:47 PM
To: orlai@orlaiprodukcio.hu
Subject: Közvetítés kérése – interjú Tarr Bélával PhD kutatásomhoz
Tisztelt Orlai Produkciós Iroda,
Engedjék meg, hogy röviden bemutatkozzam. A nevem Csősz Géza, képzőművész és kutató vagyok, jelenleg a Bath Spa University (Egyesült Királyság) doktori hallgatója. Kutatásom témája a kortárs képzőművészet és a filozófia, valamint a fizika metszetében vizsgálja az idő és a jelenlét kérdését, különös tekintettel arra, miként reprezentálja és problematizálja a vizuális művészet a „jelen” fogalmát.
Ezúton szeretném kérni szíves segítségüket abban, hogy üzenetemet továbbítsák Tarr Béla részére. A kutatásomhoz szeretnék vele készíteni egy interjút – emailben vagy személyesen, lehetőségeihez igazodva – amelyben kérdéseket tennék fel filmjeinek időkezelésével, filozófiai vonatkozásaival és a jelenlét problematikájával kapcsolatban.
Természetesen tisztában vagyok vele, hogy az ilyen jellegű megkeresések sokszor időigényesek, ugyanakkor a munkássága kulcsfontosságú számomra, és nagy megtiszteltetés lenne, ha hozzájárulna a kutatásomhoz.
Amennyiben lehetséges, kérem, továbbítsák az üzenetemet vagy adjanak útmutatást arra vonatkozóan, miként tudnám hivatalosan megkeresni Tarr Bélát.
Előre is nagyon köszönöm a segítségüket és a közvetítést.
Üdvözlettel:
Csősz Géza
Képzőművész, kutató
PhD hallgató, Bath Spa University
Kedves Géza!
Üzenetét továbbítom Tiszeker Dániel filmrendezőhöz, akinek talán van kapcsolata Tarr Bélához.
Sajnos a mi irodánk nem dolgozott még együtt a filmrendező úrral.
Üdvözlettel sok sikert kívánok kutatásaihoz.
Szabados Tünde
Szabados Tünde
Produkciós asszisztens
Tel.: +3613673478
Irodai mobilszám: +36703002112
Mob.: +36703001212
Iroda címe: 1037 Budapest, Zúzmara köz 4.
Postázási cím: 1398 Budapest, Pf.:592/12
Email: orlai@orlaiprodukcio.hu
Kedves Tünde!
Köszönöm a segítségét!
Üdvözlettel,
Géza
Kedves Géza!
Az alábbi levelet kaptam Tiszeker Danitól:
Olasz Renátó majdnem napi kapcsolatban van vele, a bevásárlásait is asszem kb ő csinálja.. még Szarajevóban van szerintem, de tuti segít:
olaszrenato@gmail.com
+36709302672
Üdvözlettel
Tünde
Szabados Tünde
Produkciós asszisztens
Kedves Tünde!
Nagyon köszönöm a segítségét és üdvözlöm Tiszeker Danit is, hogy adott közeli elérhetőséget.
Szép hétvégét kívánok.
Géza
Tisztelt Olasz Renató!
Nemrégiben azzal a kéréssel fordultam Önhöz, hogy segítsen üzenetemet továbbítani Tarr Béla részére, mivel doktori kutatásom szempontjából rendkívül fontos lenne, hogy interjút készíthessek vele filmjeinek időkezeléséről és filozófiai vonatkozásairól.
Teljes mértékben megértem, hogy az ilyen közvetítések időt és figyelmet igényelnek, ugyanakkor számomra és a kutatásom előrehaladása szempontjából ez nagy jelentőséggel bírna. Nagy megtiszteltetés lenne, ha Tarr Béla hozzájárulna a munkámhoz akár e-mailes, akár személyes formában.
Nagyon hálás lennék, ha lehetősége nyílna segíteni az üzenet továbbításában, vagy ha tudna iránymutatást adni arra vonatkozóan, miként tudnám őt hivatalosan megkeresni.
Előre is köszönöm a támogatását és a közreműködését.
Üdvözlettel,
Csősz Géza
Képzőművész, kutató
PhD hallgató, Bath Spa University
Translation:
From: GEZA CSOSZ GEZA.CSOSZ23@bathspa.ac.uk
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2025, 2:47 PM
To: orlai@orlaiprodukcio.hu
Subject: Request for Mediation – Interview with Béla Tarr for My PhD Research
Dear Orlai Production Office,
Please allow me to briefly introduce myself. My name is Géza Csősz; I am a fine artist and researcher, currently a doctoral student at Bath Spa University (United Kingdom). My research lies at the intersection of contemporary visual art, philosophy, and physics, and examines questions of time and presence, with particular emphasis on how visual art represents and problematizes the concept of the “present.”
I am writing to kindly ask for your assistance in forwarding my message to Béla Tarr. For my research, I would very much like to conduct an interview with him—either by email or in person, depending on his availability—in which I would ask questions related to the treatment of time in his films, their philosophical dimensions, and the problematics of presence.
I am, of course, aware that requests of this nature are often time-consuming; nevertheless, his work is of key importance to my research, and it would be a great honour if he were willing to contribute to it.
If possible, I kindly ask that you forward my message or provide guidance on how I might officially contact Béla Tarr.
Thank you very much in advance for your help and mediation.
Kind regards,
Géza Csősz
Fine artist, researcher
PhD student, Bath Spa University
Dear Géza,
I will forward your message to film director Dániel Tiszeker, who may have a connection to Béla Tarr.
Unfortunately, our office has not previously worked with the director.
Kind regards, and I wish you much success in your research.
Tünde Szabados
Tünde Szabados
Production Assistant
Tel.: +36 1 367 3478
Office mobile: +36 70 300 2112
Mobile: +36 70 300 1212
Office address: 1037 Budapest, Zúzmara köz 4.
Mailing address: 1398 Budapest, P.O. Box 592/12
Email: orlai@orlaiprodukcio.hu
Web: www.orlaiprodukcio.hu
Dear Tünde,
Thank you for your help!
Kind regards,
Géza
Dear Géza,
I received the following message from Dani Tiszeker:
“Renátó Olasz is in almost daily contact with him; I think he even does his grocery shopping… He’s probably still in Sarajevo, but he will definitely help:
olaszrenato@gmail.com
+36 70 930 2672”
Kind regards,
Tünde
Tünde Szabados
Production Assistant
Dear Tünde,
Thank you very much for your help, and please convey my regards to Dani Tiszeker as well for providing a close contact.
I wish you a pleasant weekend.
Best regards,
Géza
Dear Renátó Olasz,
Recently, I approached you with the request to help forward my message to Béla Tarr, as it would be extremely important for my doctoral research to be able to conduct an interview with him regarding the treatment of time in his films and their philosophical aspects.
I fully understand that such mediation requires time and attention; however, for me and for the progress of my research, this would be of great significance. It would be a great honour if Béla Tarr were willing to contribute to my work, either via email or in person.
I would be very grateful if you had the opportunity to help forward my message, or if you could provide guidance on how I might officially contact him.
Thank you very much in advance for your support and assistance.
Kind regards,
Géza Csősz
Fine artist, researcher
PhD student, Bath Spa University