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 dharma . 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.