Aleksandr Sokurov, 1995
Found by chance at the only remaining DVD rental in my city. 340 minutes. Unlike anything I've ever seen.
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I can't recommend something without explaining why it's good in my world.
Well, it seems I've found my favorite Tarkovsky film that completely captivated me—soul, eyes, heart, and ears. It's probably one of the most beautiful and aesthetic films I've ever seen.
I've often heard from stuffy film historians that the director's last two films are a self-parody of himself, suggesting that the form has become so pronounced that it now seems more like an imitation of Tarkovsky rather than Tarkovsky's own work.
Well. We dismiss that opinion and establish our own viewpoint. It's hard to abstract from the author and view the work in isolation from the facts, but despite the autobiographical nature of the beloved "Mirror" (which I didn't enjoy at all)—"Nostalghia" so far seems to me the most intimate, personal, sublimated, and reflective (and prophetic).
The theme of emigration, of the male creator, a Russian in Italy, far from home and consumed internally by guilt for abandoning his family—this is literally cinema about himself. Moreover, the film focuses more on the director's favorite idea—the sacrifice of the artist for humanity.
The visuals are as impeccable as possible. Tarkovsky no longer holds back and makes films that are visually closer to his beloved Fellini and Bergman, rather than his early works.
I admit, this is the first time I've seen Oleg Yankovsky, and now I understand the whole cult around his persona. He's truly monumental. An absolute powerhouse, every frame stolen completely, even if he is standing with his back to the audience and just breathing heavily.
The finale with the candle was the most unusual cinematic experience for me in recent years. A true spiritual revelation occurred on screen. The suspense is breath-holding, yet plot-wise, everything happening is safe.
Ten minutes of continuous meditative take, in which Yankovsky's character tries to light a candle and carry it through a small route—truly charged action, which you experience together with the hero almost to a religious catharsis in the finale. Absolute grandeur.
The final shot of a small house grown inside a destroyed temple is one of the strongest visual images I have ever seen. I sat in the cinema in complete stasis, afraid to move, and when it started to snow, I nearly lost my breath. It's been a long time since a film has captivated me like this.
P.S. I still need to watch "Ivan's Childhood" and "The Sacrifice."
P.P.S. If you don't know Russian(Italian), you'll need to prepare to read subtitles because there is no English version.
Jun 10, 2024
My final solo recommendation. A film that is highly raved and I vividly remember thinking it was a fever dream when I first watched it years ago.
Also honourary mentions:
Wolf House — Cristóbal León and Joaquin Cociña
The Hourglass Sanatorium — Wojciech Has
Feb 15, 2024
Emphasizes how scary and permanent being alone can feel :( one of the most haunting movies I’ve seen
Nov 4, 2024
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