MovieChat Forums > Andrey Rublyov Discussion > Give me the strength to finish (spoiler?...

Give me the strength to finish (spoiler?)

posted 17 years ago by whatareyoudoig
22 replies | jump to latest

I've watched about an hour of this movie just now (till the guy's eyes are cut out[?]), and find the first half nearly unbearable. The only film of Tarkovsky I'd watched is Stalker, which I found equally boring (I mean the coloured part). Well, I don't hate slow movies (in fact, 2001:ASO is my all-time favourite film), and someone here said that the second half is somehow engaging. So PLEASE give me the strength to finish the film.
(By the way, the beginning is brilliant.)
{By the way again, comparing to this, 2001 is just "exciting".}

[–] JoltToday 17 years ago

finish it finish it finish it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you will be so happy you did. maybe you will think like i did: well, that was really long... and i think i liked it. that was my first view. its haunting, the best ghost you could ever want! there is an amazing story of making a bell, it seems like a dream to think about it : ) now go! watch!

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] wsanders 17 years ago

Watch the last hour and a half, starting with the raid on the town. You will not be disappointed. Then, in a few days or a few months, go back and watch the whole thing again from the beginning when you have the time to see it all at once.

Earlier in the film is the "pagan" chapter. It may not seem to move the plot forward, but there is some astonishing camera work. In fact, the whole film is full of astonishing camera work. Who needs a plot?

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] brad_13 16 years ago

For me, Tarkovsky is probably the hardest director I've encountered to grasp. I remember when I first saw Solaris and I was bored out of my mind. If you can, try and persist with his films. I did and he's probably my favourite filmmaker.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] Durang0 16 years ago

Dunno if this helps but the film is kinda about three things in my opinion: Religion, the time and the place where the actions take place, and thirdly the main character. The film must be finished to understand the first and the last of these, as the final scene kind of completes the circle.

Also, did you immediately enjoy 2001? Didn't you first have to sit it thru, then think about what you saw, and then watch it again, or discuss it with friends etc? Andrei Rubljev kinda works that way for me.

[–] Beardos_Film_Watcher 16 years ago

Just finished watching the longest version (3 hours 25 minutes!). It was hard but totally worth it.

I'm a huge fan of Tarkovsky so just had to watch this.

I'll want to watch it again in the future to get more out of it, but even after this viewing I'm impressed.

It didn't top Stalker for me, but nothing really does... :)

The latter bit with the bell-making story finished it well after the difficult earlier parts.

Tarkovsky can hardly do wrong in my book. So a big thumbs up. Marvelous film.

:D

Just an observation. I don't think you should judge if you like 'slow' films by citing whether you like 2001... It is slow, but other slow films are usually much less visually rich in some senses. 2001... has loads of great set design and spaceships to look at with nice music to listen to, while a film like Andrei Rublev can have people talking for a long time about hard subjects as the camera looks at some mud or something (well...usually not quite so plain as mud, but certainly more everyday than spaceships). ;)

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=35080015

[–] ebossert 16 years ago

I wish I would have stopped at the one hour mark. This film is horrible. "Ivan's Childhood", "Solaris", "Stalker", and "The Mirror" were all way better than this. Way better.

It didn't even feel like a Tarkovsky film. Blandly shot and superficial with overly intrusive scoring, uninteresting dialogue and spotty acting, this is one I need to wipe out of my mind forever.

Asian Film List
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[–] jbhixon 16 years ago

I can sort of understand where you're coming from.

This film is probably the longest and lethargically paced of all his films because, in my opinion, it's probably his most important.

Tarkovsky is all about spirituality, so I figure this one required the most effort in making it (and in viewing it).

As far as the scoring, I do remember that girl during the rain/ barn scene in the beginning looping over and over. As far as the dialogue, I think the version of the film you watch determines how well it is subtitled. As far as the acting, I always thought that the film offered really difficult roles considering the subject matter. Although, whether acting is satisfactory or even believable is kind of subjective so I digress.

However, I have to disagree and say I adore his camerawork. His shots are long and for the most part, contain a fair amount of movement and broad coverage. Not to mention, he shot anywhere between 3 and 5 hours of footage. I have to give Tarkovsky props for training his cast to shoot such long scenes with such dense material. This guy puts a lot of time into setting his shots and I think that's evident.

[–] standardbearer 15 years ago

Here, you go, laddie!
-gives 230 ponits of strenght-

[–] elmsyrup 15 years ago

Hahaha, when I got to the second disc what I started to do was skip through 10 mins, watch it for a bit, skip through another 10 mins... I completed the film this way. I've seen plenty of 3 hour plus films before and I'm not a philistine but like you said, this was SO slow. There was some amazing cinematography but I watched the first disc in its entirety and I didn't understand who any of the characters were, what was happening, what they were going on about at any point... meh. Nothing. Nor could my boyfriend make head or tail of it. Never mind.

[–] redbrian3655 15 years ago

I tried to like this.. honestly. Sat through it twice trying to appreciate it on any level, but just could not. Kudos to the rest of you.

[–] Durang0 15 years ago

I tried to like this.. honestly. Sat through it twice trying to appreciate it on any level, but just could not. Kudos to the rest of you.

... And that's why we are better than you :) !

No seriously I've had a hard time appriciating (or staying awake watching) certain silent films which are supposed to be classics.

I think it's a sign of either arrogant elitism or pathetic self deception if you're not willing to admit it when something that is considered a classic fails to intrigue you.

Then again it might just be that you've got a very dull mind and should be watching rambo instead ... no just kidding lol. cheers.

[–] tricyclic_looper 14 years ago

I've not seen every Tarkovsky film ever made, only Stalker, Solaris and Ivan's Childhood so far, but from what I've seen thus far, no-one, but no-one, can ratchet up the tension like Tarkovsky can..

During the casting of the bell scene in particular, I felt like my head was going to explode in true Cronenberg style, the tension was built up to such an unbearable pitch - a young man staking his whole reputation, his very existence, on the roll of a dice - that's truly masterful film-making.

I have to say that this film more than matches up to the other films in his repertoire I've seen thus far - it's a totally different genre of film, insofar as it uncannily captures the savagery and barbarity of medieval times in all its prejudice, superstition and ugliness, and in the midst of all that one man manages to create some truly beautiful and enduring art in the eye of the storm.

It's a story of one man's triumph against all the odds, how creativity can win in spite of all the surrounding chaos and destruction.

Seriously, what's not to love about this film?

[–] cineastral 14 years ago

I saw the ending also as an artist (especially one in the Soviet Union at the time the movie was made) struggling to create something new, something he had never done before, not knowing through the whole time how his work would be received by the public. Would it be a cracked bell, or one that would last hundreds of years? One of the best endings I have ever watched in a movie, justifying an entire journey.

[–] snook_ocreed 11 years ago

The way you wrote that kinda reminded me of how someone would write about Fitzcarraldo. Which may not be the worst comparison in the world, at least with the part about achieving the glorious.