Films/DVD Asylum

Movies from comedy to drama to your favorite Hollyweird Star.

Use this form to submit comments directly to the Asylum moderators for this forum. We're particularly interested in truly outstanding posts that might be added to our FAQs.
You may also use this form to provide feedback or to call attention to messages that may be in violation of our content rules.

You must login to use this feature.

Inmate Login

By default, logging in will set a session cookie that disappears when you close your browser. Clicking on the 'Remember my Moniker & Password' below will cause a permanent 'Login Cookie' to be set.

Moniker/Username: The Name that you picked or by default, your email. Forgot Moniker?	Examples "Rapper", "Bob W", "joe@aol.com".
Password:	Forgot Password?
	Remember my Moniker & Password ( What's this?)

If you don't have an Asylum Account, you can create one by clicking Here.

Our privacy policy can be reviewed by clicking Here.

Inmate Comments

From:
Your Email:
Subject:

Message Comments

Original Message

Tarkovsky's, "The Sacrifice:" an intensely personal account SPOILER

Posted by tinear on October 14, 2012 at 09:54:59:
of the end of the world, made when the director knew he had terminal cancer.
As often with Tarkovsky, we get beautiful cinematographic imagery with many scenes evoking classical painting accompanied by classical music: the result can be intoxicating.
The dialogue is no less sublime, at times you feel you're eavesdropping on the most fascinating group of characters you've ever heard. But, unfortunately, there is also some extraordinarily overacting that almost capsizes the entire effort. When she becomes aware that, indeed, the world may be ending in a nuclear Holocaust, Alexander's wife indulges herself in one of the most difficult to watch scenes ever left in a great film: her exaggerated hysteria borders on parody. Likewise, later on, Alexander's reaction to deep fear is externalized far too dramatically. I can think of similarly poor histrionics only in one other major film: Debra Winger's grief scene in, "The Sheltering Sky." In both cases, the directors needed to force the actors more inside, to have them progress instead of just wailing and thrashing about.
The story? Well, it conflates and confuses several Christian stories and it makes for an interesting, though ultimately unsatisfying, stew.
Why then, is it a great film?
It is so in spite of its stupendous flaws: it faces the issues of death, of war, of parental love in a way very few other films have or could have---- few directors would reach so personally into their own existence with so much courage.
Time and again, I've sat down to view this film, each and every time it has rewarded me with new insights, new thoughts; I now consider it an old friend. That is greatness few films even aspire to.