Andrei Tarkovsky: POO

As far as the issue of misogyny is concerned – the biggest sticking point in my appreciation of his work – I remember flipping through an English-language volume of Interviews that features a combative encounter with Irena Brežná, who takes him to task in very direct terms. At one point, he shifts the blame from men to 'the Lord', which is such a characteristically patriarchal gesture that I couldn't help but laugh at Ross trying to wrest Tarkovsky away from the clutches of the reactionary, imperialist Russian Orthodox forces that view him as their champion. Yes, Tarkovsky was akin to Dostoevsky in that his unflagging commitment to art attenuated the most backward-looking of his political stances, but his films so clearly aspire towards theological transcendence that his self-described agnosticism is hardly the automatic saving grace Ross makes it out to be.

Anyway, Tarkovsky has left an indelible mark on me, and there is no cinematic oeuvre I value more, but I don't know if I could still subject myself to, say, the bits of Nostalghia where the Italian translator's 'hysterical' unhappiness is revealed to stem from her refusal to be a God-fearing housewife and mother. The Mirror is perhaps the only film of his that treats its female characters with genuine respect yet the mother as (false) exception to one's shameless sexism is a classic trope in and of itself. I also think Ross sells Solaris a bit short: the 'return of the repressed' embodied by the living ghost of Natalya Bondarchuk points towards a kind of self-subversive guilt on the male protagonist's part.

I really liked that Alex Ross piece, wouldn't mind more film writing from him.

Mirror gets Criterioned.

https://www.criterion.com/films/28894-mirror

Saw something about fiftieth anniversary of the premiere of Solaris.

I'll have to drive aimlessly on the freeway for 50 minutes in commemoration.

I’m going to stare at some algae drifting in my pond for this afternoon

gonna go see solaris tomorrow at the IFC

Ah fuuuuuuuuck really? Is it on widescreen (SovScope!)

https://www.ifccenter.com/films/solaris/

never saw it before! or the remake for that matter. i hear soylent green is people.

Mods!

Anyone else read the book review/profile of Stanisław Lem in a recent New Yorker? Interesting life.

I want to, before I die, see both Solaris (the original) and Andrei Rublev on a widescreen. From what I have read they were both filmed in 180 mm.

xp That Lem profile was fascinating. I've only read his Futurological Congress and a few short stories (have only seen the movie of Solaris), but I've been meaning to dig deeper. Lots of science fiction gets called mind-bending, but no other book has bent my mind or made me laugh as hard as The Futurological Congress

i read the lem profile as well, promptly bought a book that is now somewhere in the middle of the pile

Tarkovsky. Dancing. pic.twitter.com/UTckA4qLFi

— Janus Films (@janusfilms) October 28, 2022