Tár eschews sentimentality and consumption without thinking, which explains its “tanking.” It is simply out of step with “popular taste.” The lack of sentimentality also explains the many flailing interpretations and denunciations of it, which insist on reducing what is a fictional narrative to this or that reality.

Regarding the topic of music, the film does give naive viewers an insight into how much intellectual labour goes into the performances of classical program music. It’s not just about being skilled at playing an instrument. The translation of notes scrawled on sheets of paper into a sublime aural experience is the joy of music, which comes across most forcefully in Tár’s effort to prod the fictional orchestra towards the elusive meeting of musical idea and musical performance.