Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Andrei Rublev


Andrei Rublev (1966)

The Gist:
Andrei Rublev is the third Tarkovsky film I've seen and it's just as beautiful as the first two. However, I will say that out of the three, this is perhaps my least favorite simply because the medieval setting isn't as engaging to me (It's about a religious icon painter). Tarkovsky uses science fiction in the former films, Solaris and Stalker, as a way to add depth and subtlety to the minimalism. With Rublev you don't get that fascinating duality quite as much. However, the way Rublev's narrative shifts around in time, leaping through years and decades without warning, and the way the narrative leaves the protagonist in order to center itself on another characters that the protagonist has some weight or pull with is fascinating. Honestly, it's a masterwork just like the first two, it has moments of staggering filmic beauty, and it's three and a half hours of film and I can't think of a single thing to cut. I will say though, that the last segment with the bellmaker could have easily been a film itself and in fact should have been. There's a perfectly confined story arc there.

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