this sublimely poetic, gorgeous piece of epic black and white filmmaking from russian writer/director andrei tarkovsky surpasses all filmed epics to this point in film history and that includes 'gone with the wind' and 'lawrence of arabia'. it is hard to find the proper words to describe this metaphorical experience, for much of the meaning of this film is quite relevant to soviet russia circa 1966 (when the film was released). ultimately it is about artisitic freedom and the eternal quest of human kind to somehow transcend the constraints of existence. this theme is beautifully illustrated in the brilliant opening sequence of the film in which a 15th century russian country peasant attempts to escape a horde of marauders via a primitive hot air balloon. the peasant ultimately fails, but it is clear that tarkovsky is telling us that trying is all that matters; not whether you succeed or fail. the wonderful thing about this sequence is that it stands alone within the context of the film. the peasant who takes the hot air balloon ride is never heard from again, but a shot in the middle of the film alludes to this sequence and invites us to make a metaphorical connection between the peasant and andrei rublev's quest of artistic freedom and rublev's quest to find the meaning of life within the confines of his strict roman catholic lifestyle. the criterion collection dvd of 'andrei rublev' is a must see for any serious film enthusiast. the dvd features the 205min director's cut of the film that was never released in russia or the united states until now. the russians felt the film was too weird and violent. as a whole the hidden message in the film secretly spoke out against the suppressing nature of the communist party in the 1960s. in america where a 180min version was released by columbia in 1969, the film was considered too artsy even for the art house crowd. tarkovsky's cinematic technique is a sight to behold. there are bravura shots throughout the story that make brian depalma's so-called 'bravura shots' look like child's play. the invasion of the cathedral by the tartars is one of the most horrifying war scenes ever put on film. nevertheless, despite the brutal imagery of the middle part of 'andrei rublev', tarkovsky somehow achieves pure cinematic beauty as he ends the film with a section which features the son of a bell maker heading the construction of a new bell for the recently rebuilt cathedral, which had been all but demolished by the tartars. the boy's quest is so gripping that we find ourselves immersed in a story that essentially has nothing to do with the overall plot of the film or so we are led to believe. rublev actually has an encounter with the the bell maker's son at the end of the film at which time tarkovsky's themes unify with great success. tarkovsky ends the film with stark color shots of the actual cathedral frescos of andrei rublev. somehow tarkovsky has creates a film about the process of artistic creation within the restraints of censorship from a brutal horde of invaders without showing a single brush stroke on screen.
Review of Andrei Rublev
