IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
THE CRITERION COLLECTION 2002 - Solaris (1972, Mosfilm, 169 mins, Russian w/ English subtitles)
What Tarkovsky teaches us with Solaris (and perhaps with all of his films) is that the given world (nature / cosmos) and the interior world (subjectivity / memory) are fashioned from the same thing ('S', or Spirit). What this revelation discloses is that everything in-between (viz., the World) is, therefore, a projection, and this 'projection' represents 'representation'. As such, this world of representations carries the extraordinary weight of consciousness itself. Whether this man-made world of representations represents freedom or enslavement seems to remain the only pertinent question: "Knowledge that is not moral is useless." In Solaris, Tarkovsky has turned the entire Universe (World-Soul) into a boiling sea of mnemonic proto-plasm.Gavin Keeney (January 2003)
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky; Screenplay: Andrei Tarkovsky and Fridrikh Gorenshtein based on the story by Stanislaw Lem; Cinematography: Vadim Yusov; Editor: Sergei M. Eisenstein; Music: Eduard Artemyev; Art Direction: Mikhail Romadin
The Criterion Collection DVD edition of Solaris (2002) includes interviews with actress Natalya Bondarchuk, cinematographer Vadim Yusov, art director Mikhail Romadin, and composer Eduard Artemyev.
POSTSCRIPTS: Natalya Bondarchuk on Andrei Tarkovsky: "His films were all about Eternity [...] It was always high poetry, which always rises to God." Andrei Tarkovsky on Andrei Tarkovsky: "If I can't make a long, boring film, I'll shoot myself."
Andrei Tarkovsky Companion (Artficial Eye) - "Moscow Elegy" (Alexander Sokurov). Conceived to mark the 50th anniversary of Tarkovsky’s birth, this is a highly personal tribute by Alexander Sokurov -- the acclaimed director of "Russian Ark" and "Mother and Son" -- to the man who was both his mentor and friend. Reflecting upon Tarkovsky’s life, his far-reaching influence and the void left by his defection from Soviet Russia to Europe in 1982, this elegiac film features fascinating footage of the man at work and rest, and, of course, his films. Russia 1987, 88 minutes, Russian & Italian with English subtitles / "One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevitch" (Chris Marker). This appreciation of Tarkovsky made by his friend Chris Marker for the French television series "Cinema du Notre Temps" is both an illuminating personal portrait and a poetic study of the Russian master’s films. Granted access to the set of "The Sacrifice" Marker captured fascinating and insightful behind-the-scenes footage, including the editing process which the then gravely ill Tarkovsky conducted from his sickbed. France 1999, 55 minutes, colour, French, English, Italian & Russian with English subtitles / "Tempo di Viaggio" ("Time of a Journey") (Andrei Tarkovsky & Tonino Guerra). Tarkovsky’s documentary explores the creation of the screenplay for his penultimate film "Nostalgia". It shows his wide-ranging discussions with his Italian co-writer Tonino Guerra (Antonioni’s regular collaborator) and the hunt for suitable locations that might embody his vision of the film. Italy 1983, 62 minutes, colour, Italian & Russian with English subtitles.
