Tarr is a master of mood and meditation. He follows in the tradition of Tarkovsky, Bergman, Dreyer, and Bresson, making hypnotically slow, deliberately paced films that transmogrify reality into impressionism. Patience is required, but always rewarded. The opening 10-minute one-takes of his films are unparalleled. Whether we're brooding out a window watching mining cable cars creep back and forth, beholding a sublime dramatization of a solar eclipse in a boozy tavern, eerily following cattle in a muddy stable, or hovering near a horse-drawn carriage amidst a punishing windstorm, these sequences immediately draw you in, stupefy you, bamboozle you, and cause you to wrestle with their psychological complexity. Tarr's early work leans on Cassavetes' gritty vérité style, but will evolve later into something more expressive, suggestive, and poetically earthbound. Even with his influences well on his sleeve, I've never quite seen a cinema like his. He should be at the top of every cinephile "must-see" list.