My second date with Andrei

Films/DVD Asylum

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I saw Andrei Rublev when it came out around 1970. Sure enough I didn't remember every episode, but many of its images have been haunting me all that time.
I was far less mature thirty some years ago, but the undeniable power of Tarkovsky's image-making branded some of the characters and events deeply into my memory. From that movie came some of the most disturbing images that I have been carrying in my conscience ever since.
Thirty years is long time and no matter what spurred my interest in it again, it WAS time to revisit that film. This time not on the huge screen of one of the better Leningrad theaters, but on a modern large screen TV. Criterion collection is just a few keystrokes away - so fortunate for all of us.
Andrei Rublev is a monumental work. It is not something you take lightly, as besides just being long it is also incredibly deep, and requires concentration.
The subject matter is so foreign to most viewers that it would be understandable if some simply gave up and switched to something much more palatable. The 15th century Russian monk and his problems with G-d and existance are not your average fare. And if AuPh found Solaris to be nothing but the sleeping pill, imagine what would be his reaction to THIS. "Someone would actually watch it?"
The incredible mastery of its creator is obvious from the VERY FIRST shots. And from the very first frames you get immediately drawn into the film. And it never lets go. You forget about trips to the bathroom - so needed during this monstrous 205 minute viewing. But if you have time, and your mindset is a right one for that time travel, then you consider yourself incredibly lucky, for the long experience is not something you will encounter too often in your life.
Tarkovsky can create the emotions and feelings like very few other directors can. He also paints the horror in one of the most vivid and disturbing ways - completely matter-of-factly, much like I am sure it used to happen in the Dark Ages when human life had no value. For it WAS dark ages in Russia, never mind that the rest of the world had already moved forward.
With every segment so rich with emotions and underlining statements, one could slice the film into perhaps twenty small ones, each one having meaning, the philosophy and even the plot. The short hot air balloon flight is a simple story that has several important levels to it, and even all by itself could give someone enough food for thoughts for many days to ponder. But you are treated with one such story after another, and the invisible underground intensity is increasing.
I got restless as the events got closer to the scene I consider one of the most brutal in the world cinema - the henchmen gauging the eyes of craftsmen. My heart rate shot up and I could feel it... something you don't normally encounter at the movies.
If certainly helps if one is familiar with the history of that period, as otherwise some important understanding would excape the viewer. But even without it one could simply latch onto the simple story and follow the hero through all his trepidations and mental anguish.
I could go on and on, as the large work provides enough material for endless discussions. But the main point here is that the film will continue haunting me for many months and years, this time perhaps even stronger than the first time around. It is one of those works that you never forget, keep coming back to different parts of it and relive vividly again and again.
Some might call it a spiritual experience.

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Topic - My second date with Andrei - Victor Khomenko 07:04:53 01/15/03 (9)

Re: My second date with Andrei - joe2cooled 22:30:58 01/21/03 (0)

How many monocles out for five?? nt - rufus 17:51:10 01/15/03 (0)

And BTW... - Victor Khomenko 14:29:38 01/15/03 (0)

Re: My second date with Andrei - DA 12:55:04 01/15/03 (5)

Re: My second date with Andrei - TA 13:59:18 01/15/03 (4)

You guys brothers? - Victor Khomenko 14:10:43 01/15/03 (3)

Julia Roberts? - orejones 02:42:39 01/16/03 (2)

You guys are getting out of hands! - Victor Khomenko 06:35:41 01/16/03 (0)

Did 15th century Russian Nuns wear push-up bras? (nt) - mvwine 06:22:34 01/16/03 (0)

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