Nostalghia (1983)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Andrei Tarkovsky

Writers:

Andrei Tarkovsky (screenplay) &
Tonino Guerra (screenplay)

Release Date:

March 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The Russian poet Gortchakov, accompanied by guide and translator Eugenia, is traveling through Italy...

Plot Keywords:

Dream | Madness | Faith | Philosophy | Black And White Segues Into Color

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Oleg Yankovskiy	...	Andrei Gorchakov
Erland Josephson	...	Domenico
Domiziana Giordano	...	Eugenia
Patrizia Terreno	...	Andrei's Wife
Laura De Marchi	...	Chambermaid
Delia Boccardo	...	Domenico's Wife
Milena Vukotic	...	Civil Servant
Raffaele Di Mario
Rate Furlan
Livio Galassi
Elena Magoia
Piero Vida

Also Known As:

Ностальгия (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Nostalghia (USA)
Nostalghiya
Nostalgia (UK)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

Italy | Soviet Union

Language:

Italian | Russian

Color:

Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Italy:T | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | Hungary:14 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | Hong Kong:IIA

Filming Locations:

Bagno Vignoni, San Quirico d'Orcia, Siena, Tuscany, Italy

Company:

Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI)

Quotes:

Eugenia: You're the kind I'd sleep with rather than explain why I don't feel like it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Triers element (1991) (TV)

Really, as beautiful as a film can be. As beautiful as art gets.

Words cannot describe Nostalghia, or, indeed, any Tarkovsky film. He is an artist who is completely unique - I can't think of any other auteur like him. I can't even think of any film that I've seen which tries to copy his style. It is inimitable. No one else is as patient. Tarkovsky's pans and zooms can take minutes. The penultimate sequence, where a man has to carry a candle for a certain distance without it going out, should be horribly boring. Any other director would have used a lot of cutting to produce suspense. Yet, with Tarkovsky's brilliant direction, without a single cut for nearly an entire reel, it becomes one of the most suspenseful and, yes, one of the very best scenes ever captured on film.

In fact, the direction's almost too good. This isn't minimalist like some of his previous films such as Solaris and Stalker. It is more like Andrei Rublev: not a second goes by that is not stuffed to the brim, almost flowing over, with brilliant and poetic images. In a way, although in a good way, this distracts the viewer. I was so bowled over by the images of Nostalghia that I had to watch it twice to understand it (it was nearly as difficult the second time around not to be bowled over!). And I totally appreciate that. I was more than happy to explore this film more deeply on a second journey. Thank you Mr. Tarkovsky for making the films that you did. When you sought to fulfill your audiences' lives with your art, you came closer to succeeding than any artist could have. Of course, you couldn't have made life perfect, nor would you have wanted to. For, as you said, if life were perfect, art would be pointless. May my life always be imperfect.