Nostalghia (1983) film review - Tarkovsky Explained
★★★★★
‘Nostalghia’ is a haunting cinematic masterpiece that delves into the depths of human longing, leaving an indelible emotional imprint on its viewer.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky. Starring: Oleg Yankovsky, Erland Josephson, Domiziana Giordano, Delia Boccardo. 15 cert, 125 min.
Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1983 drama film ‘Nostalghia’ follows the Russian writer Andrei Gorchakov as he travels to Italy to research the life of 18th century composer Pavel Sovnovsky, who committed suicide upon his return to Russia. ‘Nostalghia’ is a film about alienation, the untranslatable nature of art and culture, and the idealistic yearning within all of us to return home. Like many of Tarkovsky’s films, ‘Nostalghia’ is saturated with autobiographical elements. When making the film in 1983, Tarkovsky said; ‘I can no longer live in Russia, but I can’t live here either.’ Similarly, despite the unsurmountable beauty of the Italian landscapes he explores, Gorchakov is plagued by dreams of his life in Russia, and must struggle against his homesickness to pursue his creative goals. ‘Nostalghia’ is imbued with a haunting melancholic beauty, and is a thoroughly unforgettable watch.
‘Nostalghia’ (1983) Film Poster Artwork
Of all Tarkovsky’s films, it was ‘Mirror’ and ‘Nostalghia’ that had the most profound impact on me. ‘Nostalghia’ is, in my opinion, Tarkovsky’s most visually captivating film. In his 1984 book ‘Sculpting in Time’, Tarkovsky wrote that he was interested in ‘the inner, moral qualities essentially inherent in time itself’. Tarkovsky wishes to make the audience of his films feel time. Through this, and only this, can a viewer avoid being a mere spectator, and instead properly engage with what they are seeing. In ‘Nostalghia’, the audience is made to feel time through Tarkovsky’s masterful use of the long shot. The landscapes he depicts hardly feel real; sweeping Russian countryside, imposing Italian cathedrals, and bodies of water that appear suffused with mystical power. The lighting in ‘Nostalghia’ is used to illuminate and conceal, and moreover to display the passing of time. In his blending of dreams, memories, and the spiritual, Tarkovsky creates the illusion of the infinite. We can see only what is framed on the screen, but we are convinced that the world he creates extends far beyond this.
Maternity and Religion in ‘Nostalghia’
At the start of the film, we are presented with Gorchakov and his translator, a striking Italian woman called Eugenia. Arriving in Italy, they have planned to see Piero della Francesca’s Madonna of Childbirth in the hills of Tuscany. At the last minute, Gorchakov decides not to go, and Eugenia is left to explore the sacred cathedral alone. Observing desperate women praying for fertility, Eugenia denounces any interest in God, or in childbearing. Here, Tarkovsky introduces two themes that can be seen in many of his films; maternity and religion. A close-up shot of Eugenia’s face precedes a shot of the Madonna, both sharing the same doleful expression. Their characters could not be further apart in sentiment, but the camera’s gaze connects them, juxtaposing the traditional Mothers of religion with the modern intellectual woman.
Nostalgia as Internal Conflict
Upon arriving at their hotel in Bagno Vignoni, Gorchakov becomes enraptured by an odd man named Domenico. Domenico, possessed by apocalyptic delusions, once imprisoned his family for 7 years within their home, and is now considered insane. However, Gorchakov insists that he is not mad, but simply ‘has faith’. Eventually, Gorchakov is granted entrance into Domenico’s abandoned home, a gloomily lit, scarcely human establishment that is slowly being engulfed by the relentless tide of nature. Tarkovsky’s filming of Domenico and Gorchakov’s conversation enhances the feeling of alienation that permeates the film. They converse, but they are shot individually, rarely sharing the same frame. Domenico imparts on Gorchakov a quest that he is unable to undertake himself; the carrying of a candle through the pool of St. Catherine. This quest is part of Domenico’s grander redemptive plan to save humanity, a penance for the selfish sins of his past.
The pool of St. Catherine is believed to have great healing powers. In ‘Nostalghia’, as in Tarkovsky’s other films, water is a connecting motif, representing motion and change. Whilst Tarkovsky rejects attaching symbolism to elements of his cinema, Gorchakov’s preoccupation with the pool can certainly be observed as an attempt to heal his own inner conflict. Divorced from his wife and homeland yet entranced by the beauty of Italy, Gorchakov is unable to see his past as it really is, or truly encounter the present. Trapped in an existential limbo, Gorchakov attaches idealistic meaning to Russia. However, the idealistic beauty Gorchakov longs for in Russia is only perceptible through his presence in Italy. It is this contradiction that centres the protagonist’s internal conflict in ‘Nostalghia’, a contradiction that is both delicately and sublimely explored.
Domenico’s Death
The conflict within ‘Nostalghia’ culminates in two scenes that deserve ample dissection. Gorchakov decides to abandon his research in Italy and return home to Russia when he receives a call from Eugenia, who tells him that Domenico has inquired about him in Rome. Domenico wishes to know whether he has completed his task, and Gorchakov lies and ensures Eugenia that he has. Here we see Domenico standing upon the Marcus Aurelius statue at the Capitoleum, delivering a maniacal speech about the importance of brotherhood, and his utopian vision of the future. After finishing his speech, Domenico engages in self-immolation. He douses himself in gasoline and sets himself alight, leaping from the statue and writhing on the floor in pain.
Parallels can be drawn between Domenico’s suicide and that of the subject of Gorchakov’s research, the 18th century composer Sovnovsky. As Domenico dies, Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ plays in the background, but the song quickly becomes distorted, wavering like a broken record, until all that can be heard are Domenico’s screams of agony. The spectators of Domenico’s speech appear detached from the events of the present, unable to react, passive in the face of death. Just as Gorchakov is disconnected from his environment and peers, so too are the people of Italy detached from their reality and their faith.
the Candle Scene in ‘Nostalghia’ Explained
Meanwhile, Gorchakov endeavours to complete the task that Domenico has provided him. In one astounding nine minute long take, Gorchakov carefully wades through the pool of St. Catherine, protecting the candle’s flame from the wind. When the candle gets blown out, Gorchakov patiently wades to the start of the pool, and begins again. The perseverance of Gorchakov, his determination to complete a task that has little to no importance to him, is incredibly touching. Tarkovsky said that he wanted to ‘display an entire human life in one shot, without any editing, from beginning to end, from birth to the very moment of death’. I think the devastating impact of this scene is testament to his success. Finally collapsing at the other side of the pool, Gorchakov breathes his last breath and dies. His herculean task completed, he can finally rest.
Life, visualised in the form of the candle, is fragile. It can be extinguished at any moment, and its extinguishment is indeed inevitable. Tarkovsky masterfully encapsulates the struggles of life in one excruciatingly long shot, and cleverly juxtaposes the violent extinguishment of Domenico’s life with the understated, comparatively gentle death of Gorchakov. The final scene of ‘Nostalghia’ displays Gorchakov sitting in front of his Russian home beside his dog. As the camera pans out slowly, the viewer sees the Russian landscape superimposed within the ruins of an Italian cathedral. Snow begins to fall, and the shot is possessed by a dreamlike quality. Notably, throughout the film, flashbacks and dream sequences occur in black and white, whilst contemporaneous events are shot in colour. The film’s final temporal shift is testament to the significance we attach to our memories, and the inseparability of past and present.
Should you watch this before you die?
It is perhaps more accurate to describe ‘Nostalghia’ not as a film, but as a spiritual experience. One does not have to align oneself with the religious beliefs of Tarkovsky to share in his exquisite vision of the world, and ‘Nostalghia’ in particular deals with themes and emotions that are inherent to human experience. Watching ‘Nostalghia’, like any Tarkovsky film, is an exercise in patience and attention; but a worthy exercise that will remain with you forever. I would certainly describe ‘Nostalghia’ as the most heartbreaking of his films, made all the more heartbreaking by the knowledge that Tarkovsky, like his cinematic self-insert Gorchakov, never returned home prior to his death. In 1984, Tarkovsky announced that he would never go back to Russia. In 1986, he died of lung cancer in Paris. One can only assume that he carried the nostalgia he so divinely immortalised in film with him until his dying breaths.