Contents
Andrei Tarkovsky was selfish, narcissistic, but at the same time a truly brilliant person. This Soviet film director has received worldwide recognition. He was well versed in films and knew what to tell about them.
Tarkovsky gave his students a list of films that they must have seen. Below are ten films that the famous director especially liked.
10 Woman in the sands | 1963
Nicky Junpei collects insects. He is prone to loneliness and deepened in himself. To find new interesting specimens, the collector goes on a short vacation to the Japanese coast.
He missed his return bus to the city, but the locals, met in the desert, offer him an overnight stay with a certain woman. On a rope ladder, Nicky descends to the bottom of a sandy ravine.
The hostess receives, feeds the guest, and in the morning he notices that there are no more stairs. The woman behaves very strangely and does not want to let him go.
9. Muschett | in 1967
Mouchette is a teenage girl whose life is nothing like a fairy tale. At school, she is constantly humiliated by teachers and classmates, her father terrorizes her daughter, and her mother is sick and must be constantly looked after.
One day, Mouchette goes into the forest and runs into a poacher. He is sure that he took the life of the huntsman, and therefore decides to ensure his safety with the help of a girl who suddenly met.
8. Person | 1966
Tarkovsky perceived this film completely differently every time he saw it, which attracted the director.
It deals with a very important problem that concerns many modern people: a sense of the meaninglessness of existence and loneliness against the background of external well-being, the normal course of personal and professional life.
Ms. Vogler is a sought-after actress who one day stops speaking directly during her performance and hasn’t spoken a word since.
Doctors say that she has no mental problems. Nurse Alma takes Vogler to the sea to find out the reasons for her strange behavior.
7. Seven samurai | 1954
XNUMXth century, Japan. Gangs of marauders and robbers are actively operating in the country, a civil war is going on.
Seven samurai are hired by the peasants to protect the village. The villagers are cowardly and fragmented, but the defenders manage to rally them.
This is a beautiful, lyrical, life-affirming film, but it is also quite realistic and visually tough.
Each character is written very well, has its own unique character, personality.
6. Tales of the foggy moon after the rain | 1953
There is a civil war in Japan. The story takes place in the XNUMXth century.
A poor potter has an opportunity to make good money: the pots he makes are quickly taken apart, and the surprised master rejoices at silver coins. He had never held such money in his hands before. After a while the potter becomes obsessed, he dreams of luxury and wealth.
Another hero, who is an ordinary farmer, dreams of military glory. For all the dreams of these men, their wives are paying.
5. City lights | 1931
This is a silent film by Charlie Chaplin, which is accompanied by sound effects and music.
Tarkovsky noted that the main character of this film behaves very truthfully and naturally.
A beautiful blind girl sells flowers on the street. One day she meets a little Tramp and mistakenly takes him for a noble person.
The tramp learns that the girl can regain her sight, but this requires a rather expensive operation. He goes to look for money.
As a result, the girl still manages to recover with the help of the Tramp, but he himself ends up in prison.
4. Strawberry meadow | 1957
The Stockholm professor is almost 80 years old. He remembers his whole long life, revisits all the disappointments that he had to face.
To receive an honorary doctorate, the professor travels to his destination with his son’s wife.
Along the way, they stop by where the man spent his youth. He recalls the past, dreams, old acquaintances, various people from the past. The professor must understand what he made a mistake, as well as correct mistakes, change his selfish and withdrawn nature.
Tarkovsky called Bergman a very intellectual director.
3. Nazarin 1959
Nazarin – a priest who took off his cassock and went to beg. They try to accuse the priest of harboring a prostitute who killed her friend, and that is why he has to travel, ask for money and hide from persecution.
Nazarin is faced with ignorance, hatred, numerous vices of people, but at the same time he still tries to understand them and even love them.
As a result, the priest is accused of being insane and trying to oppose the church. Tarkovsky notes that the protagonist of this film can be compared to Don Quixote.
2. Communion | 1962
The plot is based on faith and Protestantism. The priest Thomas Eriksson lived with his wife, who managed to constantly maintain his faith in the Creator. At that time, Thomas could well be called happy.
He became a preacher, and the parishioners believed what he said. But then the beloved wife of the priest died. Left alone, Thomas began to lose faith in God and ceased to truly help people.
The teacher Martha wants to get closer to the priest, but he cannot understand himself and stop pushing away those who are drawn to him.
1. Diary of a village priest | 1950
Tarkovsky called this film his favorite.
A young priest who has recently graduated from the seminary arrives in a small town where he received a parish. He has health problems that greatly interfere with his plans.
People do not meet the priest very friendly, they even begin to plot against him. However, an old priest who lives in another village shows some interest in the newcomer.