'Bela Tarr'

Next weekend, New York film buffs have a rare chance to experience the works of Béla Tarr, a renowned Hungarian director. The work of the independent film giant is rarely shown in the United States—and his latest film, “The Turin Horse,” will likely be his last.

In honor of his retirement, the Film Society of Lincoln Center at West 66th Street has decided to showcase his work in a retrospective titled “The Last Modernist: The Complete Works of Béla Tarr”running Feb. 3 to 8 at the Walter Reade Theater. Six films will screen this weekend: “Werckmeister Harmonies,” “The Prefab People,” “Damnation,” and “Family Nest,” play on Friday. “Macbeth” and “Satantango,” the filmmaker’s most acclaimed (and longest, at 450 minutes) play on Saturday. “Satantango” plays again on Sunday.

Tarr’s films are famously polarizing.

In “Werckmeister Harmonies,” the arrival of unusual circus attractions stirs trouble in an impoverished Hungarian village. It also focuses on Janos, a local postal man who regards the stars with a kind of wonder that is rare to see in modern-day life. It is at once dreamlike and nightmarish.

“Werckmeister” is a haunting masterpiece, both serene and sad—a black-and-white marvel. With only 39 shots in total, action glides gracefully from one shot to another. Tarr’s style respects the value of each shot, and by extension, each character. The performances are disciplined. Their effect is slow. Tarr clouds his audience’s thoughts, but he never loses control.

“The Man From London” also showcases this style, though not as well as “Werckmeister.” It follows Maloin, a railway worker who witnesses a murder involving a cash-laden briefcase. A police investigation ensues, but the story stays centered on Maloin’s quest to escape the solitude he once embraced. On his journey, he wrestles with questions of mortality and the guilt of inaction, ultimately realizing that one spontaneous act is insufficient.

The premise of “The Turin Horse” is unexpected: Friedrich Nietzsche spent the last 10 years of his life in near silence after witnessing the brutal beating of a horse by its master. This horse, his driver, and his family—not Nietzsche—form the focus of Tarr’s final film. In addition to winning the Silver Bear at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival and a Main Slate entry in the 2011 New York Film Festival, “The Turin Horse” is Hungary’s entry into the Academy Awards. Its Lincoln Center debut marks its first showing in the United States.

Tarr’s work is painstaking, but a lackluster plot and dull characters leave the film a bore. Without substance, his slow pace becomes daunting and futile.

Fortunately, Tarr’s measured pacing is usually an asset. Viewers who enjoy the early work of Gus Van Sant and Andrei Tarkovsky can expect a similar tempo. He’s the kind of filmmaker you either love or hate. But if you love him, you’ll be left wanting more of his meditative storytelling at the end of every film.