Hungarian Composer Mihály Víg Reflects on Four Decades of Scoring Béla Tarr’s Films at Shanghai Masterclass

By Naman Ramachandran

Naman Ramachandran

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Mihály Víg, the Hungarian composer, actor and screenwriter who has served as Béla Tarr’s closest creative partner for more than four decades, held court at the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival, speaking at a masterclass following a screening of “The Turin Horse.”

Víg’s bond with Tarr began in 1984 when the director, already an emerging figure in Hungarian cinema, tracked him down after spotting him in a friend’s concert footage. Their first meeting was brief: Tarr invited Víg to score “Almanac of Fall,” and the collaboration was sealed over a glass of champagne. Víg had no prior experience composing for film, and the project – which relied heavily on documentary aesthetics and improvised performance – made for a steep learning curve.

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