Australia and New Zealand Slavists Association

New Zealand Slavonic Journal

Russia and the West in the films of Andrey Tarkovsky

Author(s): DAVID GILLESPIE
Source: New Zealand Slavonic Journal, (1993), pp. 49-61
Published by: Australia and New Zealand Slavists Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40921464 .
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NewZealandSlavonicJournal
1993
DAVID GILLESPIE
Russiaand theWestin thefilmsofAndreyTarkovsky
In all mypicturesthethemeof rootswas
linkswiththe
alwaysof greatimportance;
Earth.I
familyhouse,childhood,country,
to establishthatI
always feltit important
cultradition,
myselfbelongto a particular
ture,circleofpeopleorideas.1

(1932-1986)is Russia's mostfamousand

AndreyTarkovsky
filmdirector
of thepost-war
important
period,althoughin thenear
ofa century
ofhiscinematic
career(1962-1986)he madeonly
quarter
sevenfilms(eightifwe includehis 1960diplomafilmKatoki skripka
andtheViolin)).His was a troubled
{TheSteamroller
career,andboth
thesubject-matter
andthevisualstyleofhisfilmscausedhisfilmsto
be delayedortheirscreening
tobe restricted.2
was himself
Tarkovsky
forcedto chooseexilein theWestin 1984,andhe neverreturned
to
hishomeland
withtheadventofglasnosfin 1986,hisfilms
(although,
s
did). In themid-1980sValryGolovskoysummedup Tarkovsky'
Sovietcareer:3
In thespan of 20 yearshe (Tarkovsky)made onlyfivefilms.He always
encountered
and complications.He is veryindeproductiondifficulties
to his position,nevercompromised,and
pendent.He clung stubbornly
won. Unlikefilm-makers
whoreflected
eventually
onlytheofficialviewpoint,Tarkovskydid nothew to thePartyline butexpressedhis own inofevents.
terpretation

s filmsarefamousfortheirextraordinary
visualimTarkovsky'
and
the
ofhisart.In many
agery
strikingly
originalformal
techniques
interviews
he himself
dismissed
efforts
ofcriticsto see metaphors
or
ofhis imagery,
andthe
symbolsin his images,buttheveryrichness
of his visual style,certainly
invitefurther
and
originality
scrutiny
andappreciation
ofanyworkofartwouldnot
study.Indeed,criticism
to theauthor's
progress
veryfarifthescopeofthestudywas limited
explicitintention.
It is thedream-like
qualityofhisfilmsthatsetsTaikovsky'sart
eitherin Russiaor the
apartfromthatof anyofhis contemporaries,
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West: his use of fireand water,flowingwaterand its patternsand designs,thejuxtapositionof colourand sepia/black-and-white
photographyare all distinctiveand individualisedtouches.His narrativesmake
no allowances forthe casual observer,and a Tarkovskyfilmis reand officialcriticsin
gardedas 'difficult'('elitist' by administrators
the formerSoviet Union) because it oftenrequiresseveral viewings
and containslittleof whatis seen as conventionaland logicallycoherentnarrativethread.His poeticvision is deeplyrootedin personalexperience,especiallythatof his childhood,and questionsof thehistorical destinyof Russia and its relationshipwiththe West here play a
majorpart.
The historyof Russia, bothancientand modem,is of course a
major partof Tarkovsky'sfilms.AndreyRublev (1965) is set in the
early fifteenth
century,a time of wantonbrutalityand violence especially thatof the rulersinflictedon the population- civil war,
foreigninvasionand occupation.But it is also a timeof high artistic
achievementin theformof Rublev's frescoesand icons, culminating
in the Trinityfresco we see in full colour at the end of the film.
themomentousbattleof Kulikovo fieldof 1380, when
(Significantly,
the RussiansunderDmitryDonskoy defeatedtheTartarsforthefirst
to in theentirecourse of thefilm.)
time,is notmentionedor referred
Tarkovskyfilmedhis storyin and aroundtheancientcitiesof Russia:
Pskov, Novgorod,Vladimir,and the Andronnikovmonastery.4The
filmcontainsseveralmetaphorsof civil strife:thetwo drunkenpeasantsbrawlingin themud and therain(an image whichpointsus forward to the struggleforpower betweenthe unnamedPrinceand his
brotherthatservesas thebackgroundforthefilm5),and dogs fighting
each other.The filmis particularly
markedby itsfluidimagery:water,
milk,paint,blood, mud, rain swirl and eddy, splash and spurt,and
suggesttheconstantsheddingof blood in thisviolentage.
AndreyRublev is primarilyabout the role of the artistin a repressivetime,and thecreativeprocessitself.6Moreover,we neversee
Rublev actuallypaint; rather,the filmconcentrateson his innerresponse to externalsituations.Indeed, the film's original title was
Strastipo Andreyu{The Passion of AndreyRublev).1 The balloon
flightof theopeningsequence can be seen as a mtonymiereference
to the themeof creativity,as the successfultake-offrepresentsthe
flightof man's ambitionand imagination.8The fateof the creative
artistin a repressivesocietyis symbolisedfurther
when the balloon
about
crashes,represented
by theimage of a woundedhorsethrashing
on theground.The bawdyjester (skomorokh)entertaining
the crowd
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in thetavernin whichRublevand his friendstakeshelterfromtherain

is also an artist.The camera follows him as he moves in a circle
and therearoundthetavern,makingpeople laugh withhis irreverent
foresubversivesongs.Throughlaughter,
he subvertstheausteresecular and ecclesiasticalauthority,
mockingtheboyarsand themonks.As
Kirill
Andrey'scompanion
says: "God gave thepriests,and theDevil
the
The
buffoon."9
gave
jesteris denouncedby themonkKirilland arrestedby soldiers.We see thejester laterin the film,withhalf his
tonguecut out. The blindingof the stonemasonsin the forestby the
GrandPrince's men is a further
example of the fateof the artistin a
was
undoubtedlyalso aware thatthe artist
repressiveage. Tarkovsky
led a far fromsecure existence in his own age, and in the recent
and summaryexecution.
Stalinistpast was equallysubjectto torture
The role art plays in the life of the people is a concomitant
theme,and Andreyand TheophanestheGreekdisagreeon thisimportantpoint.For Andrey(as withthejester),artshould removethefear
frompeople's lives, it shouldgive theirlives some colour and meaning. Above all, Andreyseeks to providehis people withimages of
beauty. He is unable to paint sinnersboiling in pitch in the Last
he refusesto acceptthatartshouldterrify
or keep people in
Judgment,
theirignorance.However,to TheophanesartenhancesGod's authority
and man's fearof theLast Judgment.
Theophanessees man as sinful,
the world as imperfectand a punishmentfor his sins. The more
man
knowledgea man gets,themore sorrowhe learns.Furthermore,
is capable onlyof stupidity,
and Russia's ignoranceis punishment
for
its sin. Andreypossesses theinner,spiritualfreedomto createimages
of beauty,while Theophanes seeks to terrifyand enslave. In short,
Andrey'sartis democratic,Theophanes'artis obscurantist.10
Moreover, it is in the episode entitled'Strasti po Andreyu'
('The Passion of Andrey') thatthe crucifixionscene occurs. Andrey
agrees with Theophanes that the Russian people are "ignorant"
("temen"),butasks: "But who is guiltyof that?"Andreythenspeaks
of the Russian people bearingtheircross,enduringall of life's miseries silently,and thecrucifixionthatappearsbeforeus on thescreen
is set notin theHoly Land, butin medievalRussia, in winter,and the
is dressedas a Russian peasant.This is Andrey'svision
Christ-figure
not onlyof Russia, butof theartist,and Taikovsky's clear identification of the suffering
of the artistand thatof Christ.In the following
episode 'Prazdnik'('The Festival') Andreyis himselftiedto a post by
pagans who fearhe will denounce themin an image reminiscentof
crucifixion.Also, in the earlierepisode the soldiers who arrestthe
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jester bash his head againsta tree,havingsplayed his arms out in a

postureof mockcrucifixion.
Theophanes recognises that Andrey's views are subversive.
Andrey'sfaithis tested,no moreso thanduringtheattackon Vladimir
by the Tartars.Here the brutality,pain and treacheryof the world
seem to supportTheophanes' view of man's baseness, and it is here
that Andrey speaks with the latter's ghost. Andrey admits that
Theophanesis rightand thathe is wrong,and he vows neverto paint
again. He also takes a vow of silence afterkillinga man. His despair
at the senselessness of the world is heightenedwhen the idiot girl
whomhe had protectedlaterleaves withtheTartars.
Paradoxically, Tarkovsky in his diaries shares the view of
Theophanes.He writesthat:11
others.Theyareonlycapableofde...peoplearenotcapableofgoverning
- nakedand cynical- is goingto complete
And materialism
stroying.
thedestruction....
Humanhistory
looksall too likesomemonstrous
experimentwithpeople, set up by a cruelbeingincapableof pity.A kindof
vivisection....
toomuch,andman's senseof sufferhas suffered
Humanity
Thatis dangerous;becauseit meansthatit is no longer
inghas atrophied.
God,
possiblenow to save humanity
by meansof blood and suffering.
whata timeto be alive!

in the modern
Tarkovskythusbemoans a generallack of spirituality
in
his
films
he
strives
to
create
of
world,yet
images beauty.
In AndreyRublev art is finallytriumphant,
equated with the
miracleof creation.In thefinalepisode of thefilm,Andrey'sfaithin
theessentialbeautyof theworldis restoredwhena youngboy creates
a huge bell withoutever havinglearntthe secretof bellcastingfrom
his dead father.The filmshows in detail the various stages of the
bell's creation,and the boy's prayersto God are finallyanswered.
Andreybreakshis silence to comfortthe boy who is overcomewith
emotion,and he resolvesto paintonce more.12
In subsequentworksthethemeof artand theartistis a recurring

one: in bothZerkalo(Mirror)(1974) andNostal'giya(Nostalgia)

(1983) Tarkovskymakesuse of his own father'spoems,and thelatter

film in particularfocuses on the inner confusionand doubts of a
writer.One of thethreemajorcharactersin Stalker(Stalker)(1979) is
a writer,who in one scene crownshimselfwitha knotof barbedwire
in a sardoniccounter-image
of Christ'scrownof thorns.

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to in Zerkalo,
Russia's twentieth
centurydestinyis also referred
whereRussia is the home forrefugeesfromthe Spanish Civil War,
and its Asian borderwith China is threatenedduringthe Cultural
Revolutionby zealots armed withMao's littlered book, ratherlike
medievalRussia attackedby theTartarhordes.Zerkalo is Tarkovsky's
mostpersonalfilm,relies heavilyon memoriesof his childhoodand
even featureshis own mother.Furthermore,
it is full of newsreel
footageand privatememoriesfromthattime.It remainsverymucha
subjectivefilm,and yet it provokedhundredsof Russians who had
seen the filmto remarkthatthe filmhad also seeminglyacted as a
mirrorof theirown experience.13Tarkovskysucceeds in makingcinema theartformthatreflectsthe nationalexperiencethroughthe individuallife.
Stalker is verymuch an allegory,withthe Stalkerof the title
living in a hovel in the middle of an industrialwasteland (shot in
which emphasises its dreariness)thatcan be
sepia/black-and-white
seen to represent
modernRussia, who travelswiththeWriterand the
Scientistto theforbiddenZone (in colour) to get to theRoom, where
wishes come true.The Zone is closely guarded,and to get intoit (and
also out of the wasteland) involves considerable personal danger.
However,havingtraversedtheZone and come to thethresholdof the
Room, neitherthewriternor thescientistcan bringthemselvesto enter,muchto the despairof the Stalker.The Zone is forthe Stalkera
place of peace and freedom,wheretheindividualcan discoverhis true
nature.We know of a formerStalker,Porcupine(Dikobraz), who traversedtheZone and enteredtheroom,askingforhis brotherto be returnedto life. On returning
home,he foundthathis brotherwas still
dead, buthe himselfhad become inordinately
wealthy.In otherwords,
theroomhad grantedhis truewish. Porcupinethenhangedhimself.It
is exactlybecause theWriterand the Professorcannotface the truth
about themselvesthattheyrefuseto entertheroom,and, indeed,the
Professoreven triesto destroyit.
Stalker,then,is a filmaboutself-discovery,
butalso aboutspiritual impoverishment
in a materialisticworld. The Stalkeris one of
Russia's 'holy fools' who renouncesmaterialgoods and prosperity
for
spiritualenlightenment(thus the emphasis on the povertyof his
home). The crosshe has to bearin thisUfeis his invaliddaughter,who
possesses inexplicabletelekineticpowers; his comfortis the devoted
love of his wife. His feat has been to guide the Writerand the
Professorto self-knowledge;
his despairis theirrefusalto countenance
it. Furthermore,
it is not unreasonableto see in the portrayalof the
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worldStalkerleaves behindtheRussia of theprisoncamp,an impression reinforcedby the Stalker's zek-likeshavenhead, the highfence
and watch-towers
aroundtheZone, and thearmedguards.Thus,in his
'Soviet' periodTarkovskypaintshis own countryin dark,oppressive
colours- black-and-white,
withthefigureof theartistoffering
spiritual guidance and salvation.The promiseof freedom,be it through
contactwiththeWest or the soothingpower of childhoodmemories,
is conveyedin gloriousfullcolour.
The West in a historicallyor geographicallyconcreteformis
also presentin Tarkovsky'sfilms,and hereit may be apt to pointout
that,like manyRussians,Tarkovskytreats'the West' notas a collection of separatestateswiththeirown cultureand identity,but as a
compositebody consistently
opposed to Russia. Germanyin his first
film,Ivanovo Detstvo{Ivan's Childhood)(1962), is thefascistenemy
thatis faceless,threatening,
ultimatelydestructive.Even in his most
'Russian' film,AndreyRublev, the seeminglyelegant and refined
Italian ambassador is contrastedunfavourablywith the Russians
aroundhim.He discussestheRussia he sees beforehim,is dismissive
of its squalor and brutalitybut can appreciateits achievements.14
In
particular,he wondersat themassive humaneffortand toil required
forcastingthebell, withonlythemostprimitiveequipment,thatnow
standsabove thetownto warnof attackor announcefestivities.
In Mirrortheboy Ignatreadsaloud a letterfromPushkinto the
dissidentthinkerPyotrChaadayev.This letterdisnineteenth-century
cusses in lengththe backwardnessof Russia, but also states that
Russia saved WesternEurope by absorbingthe Tartarconquest and
Russia remaineda
servingas a shieldfortheWest. But significantly,
Christiancountry,
and in Pushkin'sview theTartaryokesaved Russia
fromCatholicism.Indeed, the images fromdocumentarynewsreels
show Soviet soldierson the Sivash, and pushingback Chinese Red
Guards fromthe Soviet borderduringthe Chinese CulturalRevolution.Both images can be seen as an illustration
of Russia's missionto
save Europe fromthebarbarichordesof its enemies.Chaadayev deploredtheRussia of backwardness,serfdomand ignorance,whichhe
associatedwithOrthodoxy,and admiredtheenlightenedand progressive WesternEurope of Roman Catholicism.For Chaadayev,Russia
was cut offfromthe emergingmodern,industrialworld.Tarkovsky
in theletter:15
undoubtedlysharesPushkin'sview,as statedfurther
TheTartar
invasion
is a sadandimpressive
Theawakening
of
spectacle.
ofherpower,
herprogress
towards
Russia,theemergence
(Russian
unity

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unity,of course),thetwo Ivans,thesublimedramabegunin Uglishand

- all thisis surelyhistory,
in theIpatievmonastery
to completion
brought
and notsomehalf-forgotten
dream?AndPetertheGreat,who is a universal historyin himself?And CatherineII, who broughtRussia to the
of Europe?AndAlexander,who led youto Paris?And- hand
threshold
on heart- do younotdiscernsomething
imposingin thepresentsituation
Do youthinkhe
historian?
of Russia,something
thatwill strikethefuture
willputus outsideofEurope?DevotedthoughI am personallyto theemperor,I do notby anymeansadmireall thatI see aroundme; as a manof
I feelembittered;
and as a manofprejudice,I am vexed;- butI
letters,
in thewholeworldwouldI changemy
swearto youthatnotforanything
otherthanthatof ourancestors,
norhave anyhistory
foranother,
country
suchas ithas beengivenus byGod.

The factthatthe ambassador at the end of Audrey Rublev is

Italianis significant,
forItalyas thehome of Roman Catholicismfeaturesseveraltimesin Tarkovsky'ssubsequentwork.In Zerkalo and
Offret{The Sacrifice)theartof Leonardo da Vinci is featured.16
Italy
is theactualsettingforNostai'giya, wherethesituationof Gorchakov,
the writerundertaking
researchin Italy,mirrorsthatof the director
soon
afterwards
to make Italyhis home.However,in Tarkovhimself,
is
there
no
West
faith,as in NostaVgiyano one respondsto selfsky's
sacrifice: Italians watch indifferently
as Domenico makes his last
addressto theworldand setshimselfalight.
But whereasin his earlier,Soviet, filmsTarkovskyis flirting
withthe idea of Russia's European identityby emphasisingthe culturalties and Russia's historicaldestiny,in NostaVgiyahe is repelled
The Italianlandscape is desolate
by notionsof closeness and affinity.
and bleak by being observedthroughthe eyes of a melancholyand
homesick Russian. Its religionis lampooned in the scene where a
flockof birdsburstfromthe womb of theMadonna in a church.His
beautifulItalian guide Eugenia, who triesto appreciateRussian culturein theformof thepoetryof ArsenyTarkovsky,is shownto be incapable of penetrating
beyondthe literalmeaningof the words.Gorchakovhimselfseems unsureas to his own identity,
and in thecourse
of thefilmspeaks a mixtureof Italianand Russian,sometimeswithin
thesame sentence.Gorchakovis unableto establishanybonds- sexual or intellectual- withEugenia, and only withthe crazed Domenico can he formsome sortof attachment.
Domenico, to be sure,is a
the holy fool who
figurefromRussian literaryculture,a yurodivyy,
warns of imminentdisaster.Domenico is regardedby locals as an
idiot,buthe believes he has the giftof foresightand predictstheend
of the world (Alexanderin Offretis also a kindof latter-day
yurodivyy).Gorchakovsays thathe wantsto teardown thebarriersbetween

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states, and seeks to recreatea Russian home on the Italy he sees

aroundhim.He juxtaposeshis wife,theimage of MotherRussia, and
Eugenia,theItalianMadonna,and in thefinaltakeof thefilmwe see
him sittingin a recognisablyRussian ruralenvironment,complete
withdacha, but framedby the arches of a ruinedItalian cathedral.17
Gorchakovdies because he can findno real home. It is notfancifulto
see thatGorchakovis a projectionof Tarkovskyhimself,reflecting
the
fearsand longingof his creator.Wheneverwe see theRussian countrysidein this film,thereare snatchesof Russian folk music heard
alongside Verdi's Requiem. Gorchakovlooks into a mirrorand sees
the reflectionof Domenico, and at the end of the filmfulfilsthe latter's wishof carrying
a candleacross a pool. This is his act of spiritual
sacrifice,and we are remindedthatthe subjectof his research,Pavel
Sosnovsky,an eighteenthcenturyserfcomposer,killed himselfon
to Russia aftersome yearsin Italy. Domenico foreseesthe
returning
end of theworld,and in theact of self-immolation
(by whichmethod
the Old Believers in Russia also committedmass suicide as they
fearedthecomingof theAntichrist).
MNostal'giya is doom-ladenand reflectsTarkovsky's increasing despairwithwhathe saw as mankind'sheadlongrushto Apocaof Tarkovlypse,thenhis lastfilmis his catharsis.The subject-matter
sky's lastfilm,Offret(1986), shotin Sweden,is an impendingnuclear
catastrophe,wherewar betweenRussia and the West is the ultimate
theend of anyhistoricaland culturalrelationship.
confrontation,
The Apocalypseis a major aspect of Russian culturaland historicalthought,and one thatgoes back to the time of Kievan Rus'.
Anna Lawton also notesTarkovsky'svision of "an Apocalypseabout
to befalla societydevoid of spirituality,
separatedfromGod and from
Nature".18It is perhapsironicthatwhile makingfilmsin Russia and
aboutRussia, Taikovskyis engagingin ideas of kinshipwithWestern
Europe, but when he actuallymoves to Europe,theprospectof such
kinshiparousesmelancholyand despair.
We shouldnoteherethatTaikovsky's view of theWest as soulless and lackingvalues is similarto thatof othermodernneo-Slavophiles such as Alexander Solzhenitsyn,Vasily Belov and Valentin
Rasputin.19Tarkovskydiffersfromthesewriters,however,in thathe
is explicitlyinfluencedby theculturallinksbetweenEast and West.In
his diaries and otherwritings,thereare numerousreferencesto the
worksnotonlyof Dostoyevsky,Pushkinand Tolstoy,butalso to Tho-

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mas Mann and HermannHesse, as well as to Japaneseand Chinese

philosophyand art.
WesternEuropean music and art,for example, are used frequentlyby Tarkovskyin his films,not simplyas a backdrop,but a
structuraland compositionalmotif.Drer's Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse is featuredin Ivanovo Detstvo,an oblique statementnot
only about the destructivenatureof war but also of the imminent
deathof thehero.In Solyaris (Solaris) (1969) Kelvin and his 'resurrected' wife Hari are surroundedby Brueghelpaintingsas theyfloat
weightlesslyin the spaceship, seeminglydancing to the music of
of a
Bach. Thereis also a memorablesequence in Zerkalo reminiscent
Brueghellandscapewhen the camera looks down on a snow-covered
slope, withfiguresmovingin both the foregroundand background,
thusestablishingdepthand perspective,a sense of space and diverse
humanactivity.'nNostaVgiyathe'mad' Domenico setshimselfalight
to thedistortedstrainsof Beethoven'sNinthSymphony.Furthermore,
Westernclassical music is oftenused: in Solyaris themusic of Bach;
in Zerkalo thatof Bach and Purcell;in NostaVgiya thatof Debussy,
Verdi, Wagner and Beethoven; in Offretthatof Bach as well as
Swedishand Japanesefolkmusic.20
of theRussia-Westthemeis a
UltimatelyTarkovsky's treatment
confirmation
of his love and longingforhis native land, his roots.
Althoughhis was nota happychildhood,he presentsit (in Zerkalo for
instance) in termsof a ruralidyll. His love of the earthbecomes a
physicalpresencein his films:the Stalkerimmediatelyembracesthe
earthwhenhe arrivesin theZone, and the success of thebell-casting
in AndreyRublev is dependenton findingthe rightsortof clay. The
moods, colours and topographyof the Russian countrysideare lovinglycaughtin colour in Zerkalo, wherethe fields stretchendlessly
on, and thefewhouses we see are traditionalwooden izby.The forest
itselfseems to breathewithits own life,and indeed the final scene
sees the camra itselfrecede into the depthof the forest.Until his
travelsto the West, Tarkovskyviews the naturalworld as he views
time:alive and in motion,imbuedwithspirituality
and framingman's
life and human history.Once in the West, though,Tarkovskysees
historyand natureas threatened
by thecomingApocalypse,but- as
in the finalshootof Offret,when a treesproutsinto life- natureis
The fateof man is notso optimistic.
capable of rebirth.
Tarkovskyis an artistwho transcendstwentiethcenturyideologies and politics. Freedom to him is not a political concept,but
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rathera spiritualone. Hope lies in spiritualachievements,such as the

abilityof an individualto sacrificehimself,like Domenico in NostaVinfluencedby the
giya,like Christin AndreyRublev.He is profoundly
eschatological natureof Russian spiritualteaching,and decries the
lack of values in the materialistsociety he sees around him in the
West. He remainsa deeplyreligiousRussian,appalled at the loss of
spiritualvalues and the victoryof consumerismwhichhe associates
withtheWest,and whichhe sees leadingto disaster.21It is not accidentalthathis greatestculturalinfluenceis Dostoyevsky,who was not
his life
averse to decryingthecorruption
of theWest,and throughout
he wantedin particularto filmTheIdiot.22
There are manypointsof interestin Tarkovsky'sworkand career,and thestudyof thestylisticand thematicfeaturesof his filmsis
farfromexhausted.Tarkovskywas no doubtfascinatedby the West
and its variousfreedomsand excesses, but as a Russian he remained
deeply suspiciousof it. In his filmscommunicationbetweenWesterners and Russians is difficult,if not impossible,and the two sides
remainirreconcilable.
More importantly,
though,Tarkovskyis seen by
in Russia todayas a symbolof resistanceto tyranmanyfilm-makers
ny,ratherlike Boris Pasternak;and,like thegreatpoet,his responseto
thetyrants
of his age was theassertionof an innerfreedom,notbound
by ideologies. Tarkovskyremainsa greatartist,but one who will be
rememberedwithinthecontextof his timeas embracinga conservativeSlavophileoutlookand ultimately
rejectingtheWesternblandishmentswithwhichforcenturieshis countrymen
have been fascinated.
Notes
1.
2.

on theCinema,translated
AndreyTarkovsky,
Sculptingin Time:Reflections
ofTexas Press,Austin,thirdedition,1991,
byKittyHunter-Blair,
University
p. 193.
In therecently
(1969-1972)withGrigoryKozinpublishedcorrespondence
he encountered
tscv,Tarkovskytalksin some detailaboutthedifficulties
overthedistribution
andscreening
ofAndrey
RublevandSolyaris.See A.M.
Sandler(ed.), Mir i filmyAndreyaTarkovskogo,
Iskusstvo,Moscow, 1991,
detailsthe
pp. 343-58.In his diariesof 1970-1986Tarkovsky
exhaustively
pressureson himto cutscenesandreviseversionsofSolyaris,Zerkaloand
withGoskinoin theformof its chairman
Stalker,as well as his struggles
FilippYermashandhispredecessor
NikolaySizov. The diariesare also imfortheinsighttheyprovideintoTarkovsky's
immediate
portant
responsesto
theeventsofhis day: theSolzhcnitsyn
affairof theearly1970s,andtheimofhis fellowfilm-maker
prisonment
SergeyParadzhanov.
Theyalso contain
harshcriticismof the Soviet government,
its leaders and its diplomats
abroad.See AndreyTarkovsky,
TimeWithin
Time:TheDiaries 1970-1986,
translated
Calcutta,1991.
byKittyHunter-Blair,
SeagullPublishers,

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3.

V. Golovskoy,BehindtheSovietScreen:TheMotionPictureIndustry
in the
USSR,1972-1982,Ardis,AnnArbor,1986,p. 93.
4. JeanneVronskaya,YoungSovietFilm Makers, Allenand Unwin,London,
1972,p. 35.
5. The rivalryof theprincesis based on thatof thesons of DmitryDonskoy,
Yuryand Vasily,forthecrownwhentheirfatherdied in 1389. L. Khoroshev,an editoron thefilm,recallsthatin thescreenplaythepeasantswere
strifewas heightenedin theirexsober,and thatthemotifof internecine
change:
"I'll teachyoutoprattle
on,Smolenskswine."
"Even womenlaughat youMuscovites."
L. Khoroshev,'"AndreyRublev":spaseniyedushi' in Mir i filmyAndreya
Tarkovskogo,p. 49. The whole originalscreenplay,includingscenes that
wereomittedfromthefinalversion,is now available in English:Andrey
Faber and
Tarkovsky,AndreyRublev,translatedby KittyHunter-Blair,
Faber,LondonandBoston,1991.
6. CompareTarkovsky
's ownwords:"The mainthingforus is theproblemof
thepasof thestruggles,
theartist,theman standingamida concentration
withthepeople,the
sions,theideas of hisepoch,and his inter-relationships
his colleagues.In Rublevwe wantto expresstheprocessof an
authorities,
artist'srelationship
withtheworld,to showhowreal emotionalexperience
his attitude
to theworldand to himself."(Quotedin
helpshimto determine
Vronskaya,
p. 34.)
7. L. Khoroshevtellsus thattheoriginalfilm(Strastipo Andreyu)was 3 hours
15 minuteslong,almosthalfan hourlongerthantheversioneventually
released in 1971. Althoughthechangeswereforcedfromabove,theywereat
leastcarriedout by him,and so thefinishedproductwas nottoo farfrom
s own intentions.
These changeswouldseem to have been dicTarkovsky'
tatedby mattersof taste,ratherthanideologicalpropriety,
and involved
certainScabrous' linesof dialogueand scenesof excessivecrueltyto animals.See L. Khoroshev,
'"AndreyRublev":spaseniyedushi',inMir ifil my
AndreyaTarkovskogo,
pp. 42-3. Tarkovskyhimselfseems blissfullyunawarethatexcessiveNaturalism'in thedepictionof theblindingof themasonsor thesack of Vladimirmayalienateaudiences.See Sculptingin Time,
p. 186.
8. Maya Turovskayasaysthatthissceneis "theimageof man's potential,
and
of his spiritualstrivingto go beyondthe ordinaryboundsof his life on
earth...The restofthefilmis an embodiment,
on variousplanes,ofthatspiritualstriving
and itsvictoryovertheobduracyof matter".
Maya Turovskaya,Tarkovsky:Cinemaas Poetry,translated
by NatashaWard,Faber and
Faber,LondonandBoston,1989.d. 78.
9. AndreyTarkovsky,
thejester'swordsare
Rublev,p. 15. In thescript,
Andrey
made deliberately
unclear,buthe becomestotallyengrossedin his performance.Andrey,like theotherpeasants,is captivatedby his songs,which
also includea sad, lyricalballad.In thefilm,thewordsare clearer,theperformance
andAndrey'sresponsemorediffident.
energetic,
10. Tarkovskyhimselfdeclares: "Unlike Theophanesthe Greek,who propoundedtheidea ofJudgment
Day, whofoundin Man onlytheembodiment
of sin and vice,and in God a vengeful,punitivebeing,Rublevplaced man
first.In Man he soughtGod, he regardedhimas thehouse in whichGod
lived.In otherwords,Rublevwas a manwhoreactedto everything
around
whichotherpeople would tendto findcommonplaces."(Quotedin Vronskaya,p. 34.)
11. TimeWithin
Time,pp. 15-7.

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12. For further

discussionon the themeof faith,especially in Stalker and
Nostalgiya, see PeterGreen,'The Nostalgiaof the Stalker',Sight and
Sound,Winter1984-1985,pp. 50-4.
13. In Sculptingin Time (pp. 8-12) Tarkovskyquotes fromsome of the responseshe received- bothgood and bad. Oleg Yankovksy,who appeared
in bothNostai giya andZerkalo,remarksthatthelatterfilmwas Tarkovwhicharousedourmemory,
achievement
probedour
sky's "civicandartistic
woundsand ourunwitting
and inevitableguilt".See his Tarkovsky- A
(comp.),AboutAndreyTarkovsky,
TrulyRussianArtist',in M. Tarkovskaya
Moscow,1990,p. 219.
Progress,
as is the
14. In thescript,
oftheambassadors dressis emphasised,
thesplendour
drabnessall around;see Andrey
Rublev,p. 179.
15. QuotedinSculpting
in Time,p. 195.
16. Furthermore,
JohnB. Dunlophearsechoesof Dantein Zerkalo.See his essay 'NationalistThemesin SovietFilm of the 1970s', in A. Lawton(ed.),
TheRed Screen:Politics,Society,Artin SovietCinema,Routledge,London
andNew York,1992,pp. 241-3.
and symbolsin anyof his images,Tarkovsky
17. Usuallylothto see metaphors
...whichsmacksof literadmitsthatthisscene"has an elementofmetaphor
ariness:a modelof thehero's state,of thedivisionwithinhimwhichpreitis
ventshimfromlivingas he has up tlnow.Or perhaps,on thecontrary,
his new wholenessin whichtheTuscan hillsand theRussiancountryside
his own,
he is consciousof themas inherently
come together
indissolubly;
mergedintohisbeingandhisblood,butat thesametimerealityis enjoining
himto separatethesethingsbyreturning
to Russia".{Sculptingin Time,pp.

213,216.)

18. AnnaLawton,Kinoglasnost:SovietCinemain our Time,CambridgeUniPress,1992,p. 192.

versity
19. Lev Anninsky
withreference
toAndrey
RublevthatTarkovsky
also remarks
"was one ofthefirsttodetectthecardinalshiin thenationalconsciousness
to
whichtookshapein themid-1960s- theshifttowardsnationalmemory,
roots,thesoil", placinghimalongsidethewritersBelov, Rasbeginnings,
putin,ViktorAstafev,NikolayRubtsovand thedirectorand writerVasily
Shukshin.See L. Anninsky,
'Apokalipsispo "Andreyu"',inMirifilmyAndreyaTarkovskogo,
p. 84.
20. Comparethewordsof PeterGreen:"It was his ambitionto raisetheartof
filmto thelevel of thegreatworksof poetry,paintingor music,to thatof
Leonardoor Bach - and it was withthishumanist-Christian
Dostoyevsky,
tradition
thathe identified.
and
Despitehis essentiallyRussianupbringing
itwas theuniversalaspectsofEuropeanculturethatinterested
temperament,
himand thatultimately
makehis workso widelyaccessible."(PeterGreen,
The WindingQuest,Macmillan,Basingstoke,1993, p.
AndreyTarkovsky:
136.)
21. Tarkovsky:
"In thisrespect,thesituation
in theWestgivesus amplefoodfor
democraticfreedomsexist side by side witha
thought.Incontrovertible
monstrous
and self-evident
crisisaffecting
'free*citizens.Why,despiritual
does theconflict
betweenthepersonand
spitethefreedomoftheindividual,
thatcan
societyexistherein suchan acuteform?..Freedomis notsomething
be incorporated
intoa man's life once and forall: it has to be constantly
achievedthrough
moralexertion."
in Time,p. 236.)
(Sculpting
22. Tarkovskyagain: "Of greatsignificance
to me are thosetraditions
in Russianculturewhichhave theirbeginnings
in theworkof Dostoyevsky.
Their
in Russiais patently
in facttheytendto be looked
development
incomplete,
downupon,or even ignoredaltogether.
Thereare severalreasonsforthis:

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firsttheirtotalincompatibility
and thenthefactthatthe
withmaterialism,
(whichwas the
spiritualcrisisexperiencedby all Dostoyevsky'scharacters
of his workand thatof his followers)is also viewedwithmisinspiration
in The Idiot,he says
giving."(Sculptingin Time,p. 193.) On his interest
elsewhere:"Centralto Dostoyevsky'svisionof thebook was thefigureof
PrinceMyshkinin relationto post-reform
Russia. Dostoyevskywas nota
whowouldshatter
his character'ssufwriter
of lifethrough
theequilibrium
and failto chargetheupheavalwitha meaningof equal magnitude,
fering,
of
he was boundto respondto thestormy
scene,theferment
contemporary
whichcould be summed
thenew social phenomena,
ideologicalarguments,
andrepulsionof threegroups:collapsinglandedgentry,
up as theattraction
Tarand democratic."
and theradicals- seminarian
emerging
bourgeoisie,
sees thatin thenovel Rogozhinbecomes"themostrobust
kovskyfurther
social and moraltypeof contemporary
Russia". (Diaries 1970-1986,pp.
372-3.)

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