Andrei Rublev is a 3.5 hour epic about a famous Russian artist. Tarkovsky wanted to make a film about not just the artist but the change and times the artist was surrounded by. Hence we get many years, many happenings, many details.
Tarkovsky is one of the modern artists that a whole movement is named after. Films are described as " Tarkovsky-esque" and I believe this film is one of the births of that term. It's a fucking 3.5 hour black and white slow moving philosophy film about a painter. If that's not Tarkovsky I dunno what is.
So.... we have a lot. A lot and also nothing. Tarkovsky, bro. We follow people, saying things, doing things. Talking about well known artists. Talking about Rublev. We see poetically captured life, both imagined and real sufferings. We see harsh climates, conflicts, hate and love. And when we meet queer, quiet, meek and searching Rublev, we follow him on his search and perusal through the Russian history in this film.
I won't say I loved this. I think one is supposed to know Rublev and his lore, is supposed to know the characters and the events. I think these things because the movie sure doesn't explain anything. Who people are, what their deal is, even their relevancy is unknown. Rublev himself is similar. He is unknown and we project ourselves and our innocence on him, which works, but not in the case where he was real and he played a part in things around him.
The film was ahead of its time in portraying nudity, violence, and loss. We can see brutality not presented as such but instead as a fact of life, an ingredient, a necessary and common occurrence. We see change in a society and a time. Through the years, people, places, things and ideas change, whilst others do not. These ideas are all given space and freedom, putting none above the other in gravity and importance. These are the moments that make this film unique.
I gather that Rublev was misunderstood, unappreciated, and lived in a tumultuous time. If this is untrue who knows. At least that seems to be what the director wanted me to think.
I doubt I'd watch it again, it needs some fucking editing, but it's still a 3.5 star film.
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