“It is obvious that art cannot teach anyone anything, since in four thousand years humanity has learnt nothing at all. We should long ago have become angels had we been capable of paying attention to the experience of art, and allowing ourselves to be changed in accordance with the ideals it expresses. Art only has […]
Analysis of the “Berton’s Report” film sequence from “Solaris” directed by Andrei Tarkovsky (1972) “I want to emphasize yet again that, […], cinema is an art which operates with reality…” (A. Tarkovsky 1989: 177) [1] I. Introduction Andrei Tarkovsky is one of my favorite directors. I admire his films. However, to interpret and analyze the […]
Introduction In her article “The Concept of Cinematic Excess,” Kristin Thompson speaks of a dual tendency in film criticism: we could see films as a “struggle of opposing forces,” some of which “strive to unify the work, to hold it together sufficiently that we may perceive and ‘follow’ its structures.” Outside of these structures “lie […]
The Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset has referred to man as a “conscious cosmic phenomenon”. What he meant by this has everything to do with the fact that there is at least one cosmic entity that is capable of self-awareness in the universe. Ironically though, Ortega recognized that this reality remains the most transparent […]
In Solaris (1972), Andrei Tarkovsky presents a vision of contemporary society as one that has become cut off from nature, and provides a narrative that illustrates the possibility of remaining human in the inhuman world that is the result. The film contrasts a life-affirming natural landscape to an urban, constructed landscape where the natural world […]
In the essay entitled “Nature as ‘Comfort Zone’ in the Films of Andrei Tarkovsky” in the last issue of Offscreen I discussed the unique manner in which Tarkovsky situates nature as an arena of respite from all forms of emotional and physical pain. One of the films I analyzed closely was Ivan’s Childhood, a film […]
The growing impact of Traditionalism in modern Russia is not just due to the fact that a group of Traditionalist-oriented former Soviet dissidents like Alexander Dugin and Geydar Jamal have managed to reach the prime of their intellectual and (mediated) political influence. It is also a result of the susceptibility of some strata of modern Russian […]
The first kung – fu movie that I watched back in the 70’s was called ” Karate, The Superior Youngster” and it’s first scene begins like this: GANGSTER: (from the top of the cliff) ” Karate , come and kiss my feet ! “ KARATE ( from the bottom of the cliff ) “Why don’t you […]