Andrei Rublev (1966) - Original Title: Andrey Rublev - By Andrei Tarkovsky

Our Rating: 9.5

IMDb Ratings: 8.2

Genre: Biography | Drama | History

Cast: Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Ivan Lapikov, Nikolay Grinko

Country: Soviet Union

Language: Russian | Italian | Tatar

Runtime: 165 min

Color: Color (Sovcolor) | Black and White





A ndrei Rublev is a 1966 Russian motion-picture directed by Russian auteur Russian soul. Tarkovsky not manages to capture the soul of a passionate artist who, lost in the mediocrity of his time, is forced to question the veracity of his own genius, but also succeeds in presenting a kaleidoscopic snapshot of a highly tumultuous phase of Russian history. ndrei Rublev is a 1966 Russian motion-picture directed by Russian auteur Andrei Tarkovsky . The movie presents a semibiographical account of Andrei Rublev who is considered to be the greatest medieval Russian painter of Orthodox icons and frescoes. Andrei Rublev is set against the sumptuous, albeit grotesque backdrop of the 15th century Russia . Like an epic Russian novel, Andrei Rublev—also known as The Passion According to Andrei—not only beautifully depicts the caricatures of its wide array of characters but also poignantly portraits theTarkovsky not manages to capture the soul of a passionate artist who, lost in the mediocrity of his time, is forced to question the veracity of his own genius, but also succeeds in presenting a kaleidoscopic snapshot of a highly tumultuous phase of Russian history.



Russian Actor Anatoliy Solonitsyn as Andrei Rublev

Andrei Rublev is beautifully presented in form of seven chapters and a prologue and an epilogue with each chapter allegorically depicting a different theme. Through Andrei Rublev, Tarkovsky demonstrates that spirituality lies at the very core of creative freedom and it is this connect with the divine (whether alleged or ultimate) that gives the artist his inspiration. Andrei Rublev also talks about the self-inflicted mediocrity of existence that slowly but steadily leads to poverty of thought, subsequently leading to a state of mental stagnation. Tarkovsky brutally touches upon the duality of art: as a healer as well as a punisher: For those who are true to themselves, art can serve be a great healer while for those who doubt their own abilities, art can be a merciless punisher. In Andrei Rublev, Tarkovsky also expatiates upon the hypocrisies associated with human existence. Tarkovsky professes subjugation to the omnipotence of art, although not as a symbol of accepting its authority but rather as a gesture of acknowledging its greatness. It wouldn't be far-fetched to imagine that through the medium of Andrei Rublev, Tarkovsky tries to alleviate his own artistic suffering that owing to the perpetual ignorance, indifference and brutality of the ruck has become a quotidian reality for an artist.







Russian Maestro Andrei Tarkovsky Before I go any further, let me first confess that while Japanese master auteur Akira Kurosawa happens to be my all time favorite movie-maker, a very near second is Russian maestro Andrei Tarkovsky. This being said, I must also assert that while Kurosawa is the master of the ‘Simple’, Tarkovsky is indeed the master of the ‘Visceral’. No other auteur, perhaps with the likely exception of Bergman Bunuel and Fellini , has succeeded in besieging this uncharted avenue with such an imperial sense of poise and finesse.





A Still from Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker Tarkovsky glides through these bizarre, alienated territories with an ease and comfort of a quixotic artist lost in his art to such an extent that to a less keen observer it would appear to be a mere act of self-indulgence demonstrated by a narcissist who, because of being overwhelmed by his own arrogance, is incapable of doing anything more productive, but a more perspicacious eye is ought to know better, for beneath this facade of nonchalance lies a consummate yet selfless showman who, being propelled by the innocence of his artistic fervor, is capable of giving much more to his audience than what he could possibly keep for himself. Swedish maestro Ernst Ingmar Bergman said of Takvovsky: “When film is not a document, it is dream. That is why Tarkovsky is the greatest of them all. He moves with such naturalness in the room of dreams. He doesn't explain. What should he explain anyhow? He is a spectator, capable of staging his visions in the most unwieldy but, in a way, the most willing of media. All my life I have hammered on the doors of the rooms in which he moves so naturally.”







Kirill meets Theophanes the Greek Andrei Rublev, like most of Tarkovsky’s works, is more than the sum of its parts. In Andrei Rublev, Andrei Tarkovsky perspicaciously and punctiliously touches upon a multitude of conflicting as well as mutually exclusive themes: existentialism, spirituality, theology, metaphysics, empiricism, objectivism, politics, etc. In 1961, during filming his debut feature film Ivan's Childhood, Tarkovsky made a proposal to his production house for a film on the life of Andrei Rublev. Tarkovsky and his co-screenwriter Andrei Konchalovsky researched for more than two years to develop the script. It was only in 1964 that the script was finalized and the filming began.

A brief Interlude b/w Andrei and a Pagan Girl Andrei Rublev presents to the viewers a bunch of creative but complex characters — including the Jester; the monks: Andrei, Kirill, and Danil; Theophanes the Greek; and the young Bellmaker — most of whom are either the victims of their own vanity or the lack of it; Tarkovsky uses these convoluted caricatures as a means to portray the different human personas viz. optimistic, pessimistic, idealistic, humanistic, opportunistic, sadistic, etc.



Andrei Rublev: The Prologue Andrei Rublev also serves to be a repository of some of the greatest film sequences ever filmed in the history of cinema. This includes a bizarre prologue depicting a man taking a hot air balloon ride to escape an ignorant mob, an infamous orgy scene that’s depicted as part of some pagan ritual, a Jester getting arrested for mocking the Boyars, Kirill’s rendezvous with Theophanes the Greek, and the casting of a bell for the Grand Prince by the opportunist son of a dead bellmaker.



Andrei Rublev: The Jester The movie's final sequence depicts some real works of Andrei Rublev in form of a montage as the viewer finally gets to witness (in the literal sense) the artistic genius of a truly great artist. The above mentioned scenes and a dozen or so more are highly symbolic in nature owing to which they can be interpreted in more than just one way and perhaps that’s what makes multiple viewings absolutely essential.



Andrei Rublev: The Casting of the Bell Owing to its controversial nature, the movie couldn’t be released domestically in the early going and it was only in 1971 that a heavily edited version was released in Soviet Union . Andrei Rublev's grotesque imagery coupled with its picturesque cinematography — high on detail with dream-like long takes — gives it a poetic feel. Andrei Rublev is an unforgettable cinematic experience that gets better with each viewing and is a living testament to the timelessness of cinema. One more aspect of Andrei Rulev that's worth mentioning is that despite it's rebellious subject and contradicting themes, the movie has an undercurrent of subtlety that balances it and prevents it from going overboard —something that Tarkovsky always took care of ever so meticulously.





Andrei Rublev consoles the young Bellmaker Overall, Andrei Rublev makes cinema touch new heights and depths and yet we barely get to witness Tarkovsky's signature mysticism and phantasm —the motifs predominant in his later works Stalker (1979), ; Andrei Rublev is a great means to get acquainted with Tarkovsky’s style of moviemaking before delving into his more personal works like Solyaris (1972) Nostalghia (1983) , and The Sacrifice (1986) . Andrei Rublev brings to the fore the artistic yearnings of a quintessential artist and represents a kind of cathartic cinema that owing to its profundity can be tough to imbibe in the early going but has huge rewards for those who are patient and are willing to delve deep enough to savor its true delight. Highly recommended!





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