In her own words, film star Cate Blanchett has no interest in using art for political purposes. “I don’t think that artistic practice is a means of education,” said the 53-year-old in Venice on Thursday. “I’m not interested in agitprop.” “Tàr” premieres at the film festival on Thursday night, in which she plays the leading role.
What happens to a film once it’s out is another matter, Blanchett said. “Once the thing is made, it can be politicized, disseminated, debated, people can be disgusted, hurt or inspired by it. But that’s out of our control.”
Blanchett plays a principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic whose life is spiraling out of control in Todd Field’s competition entry. Nina Hoss embodies her partner. It was only at press conferences about the film that she noticed that women are at the center of the film, said the Australian actress. But that was not the reason why she was interested in it – but because it felt “urgent and indispensable”.
At the same time, the story is a fairy tale, she said. “To this day there is no chief conductor in the great, venerable German orchestra.” The structures in the world of classical music are still very patriarchal in this regard.
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