The best movie of 2022 is about celebrity power

Tár reminded me of Ravi Zacharias, and how adoring fans enable abuse.

Courtesy of Focus Features

There’s a scene in Tár, Todd Field’s excellent 2022 film about a celebrated female conductor and composer, that made me think of the late Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias. It kept me up at night after I first saw the movie last fall.

We learn about halfway through the movie that Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) is implicated in the suicide of a former mentee. While the film omits details, we understand that Tár had sexually exploited the woman, abusing her power over her and blocking her career advancement. We also intuit that the woman was one of many.

The news is ill-timed for Tár. She’s about to conduct a capstone symphony recording and go on tour to promote her autobiography (Tár on Tár — perfect). Public outcry over her role in the woman’s death leads Lydia to lose her job and her foundation. She leaves behind her posh Berlin home (and wife and daughter) for a guest conductor role in an unspecified Southeast Asia locale.

While there, Tár visits a spa. The host…