NOSTALGHIA (1983) B/W & C widescreen 130m dir: Andrei Tarkovsky

w/Oleg Yankovsky, Domiziana Giordano, Erland Josephson, Patrizia Terreno, Delia Boccardo, Laura De Marchi, Milena Vukotic, Alberto Canepa

Tarkovsky's first film made outside the Soviet Union is a very personal meditation on expatriate artists. Yankovsky plays Tarkovsky's surrogate, a Russian poet who travels to Italy to research the life of an eighteenth century Russian composer who committed suicide there.

From The Movie Guide: "A meditative film film by visionary Soviet filmmaker Tarkovsky that lures viewers into its mysterious, mystical world and completely envelops them for a two-hour stretch. ...

"The final sequence of NOSTALGHIA is one of the most captivating ever put on film. The viewer becomes completely swept away by Tarkovsky's world where the elements reign supreme --- fire and water are everywhere. The atmosphere Tarkovsky creates is one of constantly dripping water, unsettling mists, and dew seeping through the eternally damp walls. Coupled with these memorable visuals is a remarkable highlighting of sounds (a job admirably performed by Remo Ugolinelli) such as the echoing drip of water or the swirling of the drafts. NOSTALGHIA is not a film for everyone --- if it is fast-paced action you desire, then you will quickly be snoring. Instead of excitement, the feeling one gets after seeing NOSTALGHIA is one of utter relaxation that makes us long for the world we left behind in the theater."