Andrei-tarkovsky

Andrei Tarkovsky [Apr. 4, 1932 - Dec. 29, 1986] [see also: Stalker, Solaris ] [ related: Nostalghia, The Sacrifice]
Sculptor of time [filmmaker] and documentarian of dreams [poet], the Russian artist Andrei Tarkovsky spent decades wrestling with the fundamentally ungraspable. The seven films of his oeuvre attempt poetic dialogue with what is irrevocably in-between or just beyond reach. Consequently, Tarkovsky's work is marked by a fascination with alien life [ Solaris ], the otherwise supernatural, the occult ¹ , and the shrouded nature of deep desire [ Stalker ]. A true mystic, Tarkvosky held great reverence for mythological systems, not for their symbology, but for their concrete ability to interact with the Emptiness. Whether through widespread climatological disaster or impending nuclear holocaust, Tarkovsky often used the apocalypse as a McGuffin, presenting strange ritual as its antidote. In The Sacrifice , the film's central protagonist copulates with a witch while levitating to end World War III. And at the conclusion of Nostalghia , an aimless poet must walk the entire length of an empty mineral bath with an unextinguished candle to prevent the end of the world. The poet's journey lasts a full 17-and-a half-minutes and is filmed in a single shot ² .

¹ As evidenced by his fascination with Ninel Kulagina

² Chronologically speaking, his films feature scenes of increasingly brutal duration, limited action, slow-pacing, meticulous framing, and sparse/strange musical scoring.