While I do rank Andrei Rublev(the greatest Soviet film ever made from personal view), Mirror(Tarkovsky's most personal) and Stalker above it, Nostalgia doesn't disappoint in any way; coming from a director who was one of the few who did not make a bad film, even my least favourite Ivan's Childhood was great and contains one of the best child performances ever.
Nostalgia is not for everybody, despite being one of his shortest it is one of Tarkovsky's least accessible along with Solaris. People will be captivated by the photography, the symbolism and direction amongst other things while others will find the slow pacing too much for them, mightn't completely understand what's going on or maybe find it repetitive. As said already, this viewer is one of those people who considers it another Tarkovsky masterpiece. It's not a Tarkovsky film without beautiful visuals and imagery and great directing and Nostalgia absolutely has both. The mix of black and white and colour are truly striking while the photography(the most interesting being the lengthy but hypnotic lighted candle sequence) like all Tarkovsky films is some of the most stunning and arresting seen for any film. Tarkovsky's direction as ever is exemplary even late in his career, despite being his first Non-Soviet film Tarkovsky's unique style is unmistakable. The symbolism is fairly straightforward and still powerful.
Nostalgia's music score is hauntingly melancholic and the dialogue is thoughtful and subtle, the desolation of art speech contains some of the most thought-provoking dialogue of any Tarkovsky film. With the story, the slow pacing did not bother me at all. Quite the opposite, because a lot of parts were so dream-like and mystical it was so easy to be captivated by it. The story itself is one of Tarkovsky's most personal(second only to Mirror) and has its fair share of emotional power, if not as much as Andrei Rublev and Solaris. The characters carry the film well and the performances are fine, Oleg Yankovsky is a compelling lead and Erland Josephson is appropriately distinguished and better than he is given credit for here. Overall, not one of Tarkovsky's best but doesn't disappoint at all. 10/10 Bethany Cox
Nostalgia is not for everybody, despite being one of his shortest it is one of Tarkovsky's least accessible along with Solaris. People will be captivated by the photography, the symbolism and direction amongst other things while others will find the slow pacing too much for them, mightn't completely understand what's going on or maybe find it repetitive. As said already, this viewer is one of those people who considers it another Tarkovsky masterpiece. It's not a Tarkovsky film without beautiful visuals and imagery and great directing and Nostalgia absolutely has both. The mix of black and white and colour are truly striking while the photography(the most interesting being the lengthy but hypnotic lighted candle sequence) like all Tarkovsky films is some of the most stunning and arresting seen for any film. Tarkovsky's direction as ever is exemplary even late in his career, despite being his first Non-Soviet film Tarkovsky's unique style is unmistakable. The symbolism is fairly straightforward and still powerful.
Nostalgia's music score is hauntingly melancholic and the dialogue is thoughtful and subtle, the desolation of art speech contains some of the most thought-provoking dialogue of any Tarkovsky film. With the story, the slow pacing did not bother me at all. Quite the opposite, because a lot of parts were so dream-like and mystical it was so easy to be captivated by it. The story itself is one of Tarkovsky's most personal(second only to Mirror) and has its fair share of emotional power, if not as much as Andrei Rublev and Solaris. The characters carry the film well and the performances are fine, Oleg Yankovsky is a compelling lead and Erland Josephson is appropriately distinguished and better than he is given credit for here. Overall, not one of Tarkovsky's best but doesn't disappoint at all. 10/10 Bethany Cox