Andrei Rublev (1966)
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Writers: Andrei Tarkovsky, Andrey Konchalovskiy
Actors: Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Ivan Lapikov, Nikolay Grinko, Nikolay Sergeev
I have always had a deep fascination with Russian art. Whether its film, music or literature, there seems to be this incredible quality to Russian art that I cannot find anywhere else. It started with literature, I delved into the world of Tolstoy and Bulgakov. Their books were unlike any I have read from other countries. The structure of the novels along with the incredibly brazen style in which they were written interested me immensely. However, I could tell that there was much more to this country’s art that I wasn’t getting. The other major piece from Russia that had a profound impact on me was Elem Klimov’s masterpiece Come and See. It was a film that literally left me speechless, and I was enamored by every minute of that film. It stayed with me for so long that I still think about certain scenes and visuals of the film. Later I also watched The Mirror by Tarkovsky, and although I adore the film from a technical aspect (the audio-visual experience was unforgettable) I was still missing the underlying meaning behind everything and wanted to come back to it once I had a better understanding of Russian history/art. The final piece of Russian art that had such an impact on me, it basically elevated Andrei Rublev to another level is Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. I spent an entire year reading The Brothers Karamzov. Being a slow reader it actually helped me understand that book in a deeper and much for profound way. Also with spending that much time, I went through many things during that year. I got married, moved out of my old room and into a new one with my wife. All of that coupled with the spiritual journey The Brother’s Karamazov put me through made me a different person. Watching Andrei Rublev was a similar experience to reading The Brothers Karamazov. It was a spiritual journey, one that I cannot forget for all its brilliance.
It is extremely difficult to talk about Andrei Rublev without projecting your personal experience of the journey. Since the film is not only a spiritual expedition for the characters but also the viewers. As Andrei’s thoughts and mannerisms change so does yours on everything that is unfolding. Each stage of the film leaves the viewers with deep questions that can only be answered by them, similar to how Andrei had to answer them himself. The sabbath scene for example was a sight to see. It was mesmerizing. Andrei as well was battling within himself as to the morality behind what these people are doing. He knows that if he had just left and not bothered himself nothing would have changed. But he pushed forward and put himself in harms way in order to confirm his own beliefs. He was challenging his own ideals by confronting the pagans. This is similar to when he takes an oath of silence and stops painting. He is questioning all that he has been led to believe his entire life. With the war’s effects looming over everyone and the famine continuously getting worse, Andrei is facing his biggest moral dilemma. He is torn, not knowing what his purpose is, or whether or not what he thought was his purpose is actually the reason he is on this earth. This struck a huge chord in me, as I believe everyone can relate to this. However, no one relates to this sentiment more than Tarkovsky himself.
The reason I mentioned Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, and how it helped me appreciate this film is because I felt like both Dostoevsky and Tarkovsky are coming from a very similar place when crafting their respective pieces of art. Both pieces of art are used as sort of a battlefield for the respective artist to debate & argue their own beliefs/perceptions. Dostoevsky used the three brothers to debate his own faith. Each of the three brothers represented a different side of Fyodor, and he wanted to know which one he truly believed more. Similarly, Tarkovsky is using Andrei Rublev as a figure to depict his inner struggles as an artist in Soviet Russia. We can see this with the plot. The film starts off with a man who jumped on a balloon on a leap of faith. It echoes Tarkovsky’s thinking as he is making this film on a whim knowing that it will be subject to extreme censorship. Another example is the boy at the end who managed to create this incredible bell with no experience. The boy put his life on the line for the sake of creating this masterpiece, and it echoes Tarkovsky’s mindset during the creation of this film. Finally we have Andrei Rublev who fully embodies Tarkovsky during this period. Throughout the film we see Rublev constantly battling whether or not he should continue painting. By the end of the film Andrei comes to the realization after witnessing Boris complete his masterpiece that he is going to devote his life to painting. Where in which he goes on to complete his masterpiece the “Trinity” painting. This is paralleled with Tarkovsky’s feelings towards the creation of this film. He is in an internal dilemma. Does he pursue the art of film-making if it means going against the Soviet Government? Is his art and his message worth angering his authority? Similar to how Rublev defied his authority, so did Tarkovsky, and it birthed this incredible picture.
Andrei Rublev is an immensely difficult film to go through. It challenges the viewer, not simply from an artistic aspect but from a philosophical one as well. It is deeply layered to the point that one cannot unravel everything it has to offer with just one viewing. There are also elements that can never be unraveled, forever put in to keep us wondering and coming up with our own conclusions. The journey that Andrei Rublev goes through is torturous. The suffering is evident, and it is felt by the viewer as well. Being shown in black and white in a very grim and damp setting brings the entire picture to a very tough yet necessary place. However, Tarkovsky does something that changed this film from an excellent film to a perfect one. He ended this incredibly exhausting and daunting picture with one of the greatest scenes ever. After nearly three and a half hours of difficult and complicated cinema to go through, you are hit with a wave of paintings in full color. Those paintings rush through you in such a way that you end up giving off a sigh of relief after it is all over. Finally it caps off with the harrowing and beautifully haunting image of the trinity. That final scene was incredible to experience first hand, and I am glad I witnessed this masterpiece and a time in my life when I truly needed it.
10/10
Perfect Film
