Movie thoughts and fiction updates.
Andrei Tarkovsky on Both Sides of the Iron CurtainLike most tyrannical regimes, the Soviet Union spent a lot of money on art. Artists tend to fall into two camps when it comes to working under a patronage system through the government. The first are party hacks who gleefully celebrate the system they're in. The other… Continue reading Andrei Tarkovsky – A Retrospective
Andrei Tarkovsky is one of the kings of art house cinema. He made only seven films in his unnaturally shortened career, and he was in constant conflict with the authorities of the Soviet Union about the content of his films, particularly the religious aspects. He began his career during the brief period under Nikita Khrushchev… Continue reading Andrei Tarkovsky: The Definitive Ranking
#3 in my ranking of Andrei Tarkovsky's films. Made while Andrei Tarkovsky knew that he was on death's door, The Sacrifice is the final work of one of cinema's finest filmmakers. A plea in the face of a literal Armageddon on a small scale, it deals with the sense of the apocalypse in the most… Continue reading The Sacrifice
#4 in my ranking of Andrei Tarkovsky's films. This is probably Andrei Tarkovsky's most autobiographical film, which is saying something because Mirror is about his own childhood. Mirror was really about the environment that led to the creation of Tarkovsky himself, in a way, but Nostalghia seems to be much more about Tarkovsky in the… Continue reading Nostalghia
#2 in my ranking of Andrei Tarkovsky's films. There's something about science fiction that really tries to mess with the audience's head that I really appreciate. These are stories that really try to create something different, something removed from our own experiences, that challenge some basic concept of perception. Part of doing that, I long… Continue reading Stalker
David Vining, Author 