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Andrei Rublev (1969)

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky

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From Time Out Film Guide

The complete version (39 minutes longer than the print originally released) 'explains' no more than the cut version, but at least Tarkovsky's mysteries and enigmas are now intact. Rublev was a minor icon-painter of the early 1400s. Tarkovsky re-imagines him as a Christ-like cypher for the sufferings of a divided Russia under the Tartar invaders: a troubled visionary reduced to years of silence by the horrors that he witnesses, who finally rediscovers the will to speak - and to paint. The film offers eight imaginary episodes from Rublev's life: the most brilliant coup is the story of a beardless boy saving his own life by pretending that he knows how to cast a giant bell - and finding that he can do it. This boy's blind faith rekindles Rublev's confidence in himself and his people, leading the film into its blazing climax: a montage of details from Rublev's surviving icons.

Author: TR 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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User reviews of this film

Michael Richards said...

Posted on Mar 04 2009 19:26 A masterpiece of true vision. This film draws you into the reality of the Middle Ages not some Hollywood fake back lot. The sheer terror of a feudal state full of ignorance filth death and brutality. The one glimmer of hope is that beauty can be created in the midst of all this horror. The moving camera shots are breathtaking and here become a trade mark. Tarkovsky’s horses are almost venerated in this film. The raid sequence is almost to graphic, once seen never again forgotten. This film is a must see experience and in my humble opinion probably one of the greatest films of all time.

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