Andrei Tarkovsky: Elements of Cinema by Robert Bird (review)

Abstract

reviews 733 Bird,Robert.Andrei Tarkovsky: Elements ofCinema. ReaktionBooks,London, 2008. 256 pp. Illustrations. Chronology.Notes. Filmography. Bibliography , Index.£15.95:$25.00(paperback). In theintroduction to his new book on AndreiTarkovskii, RobertBirdis unequivocalin asserting Tarkovskii' s claim to a place amongthegreatsof bothRussianculture and Europeanfilm. Describing himas cthe onlyRussian filmmaker sinceEisenstein whocouldrivalRussia'sgreatwriters and composers in the power of theirepic narratives, at once deeply national and profoundly universal' (p. 8), he also identifies himas 'thesinglemostimportantinfluence on the styleof contemporary European filmwithits open narrative structures and slow,pensivemood' (p. 10).Although thelengthof thisbookdoes notallowfora comprehensive coverageofTarkovskii's seven mainfilms and otherprojects, it offers manynew and originalinsights into thisdirector's work. Bird's discussionof the individualfilmscontributes to a more detailed understanding of theirproduction history through his use of new archive material. Transcripts oftheartistic councilmeetings at Mosfilm dedicatedto Tarkovskii's early film Steamroller andViolin (1961), forexample, makeclearhow controversial thisapparently harmless filmwas at thetime,and showthat official objections weretoTarkovskii's style ofnarration withitslackofunified perspective, ratherthanthe 'story'itself:£Itwas as if the storywould be basically acceptableifonlyitweretoldstraight, without "detailsand perspectives '"(p. 31).Iftherocky pathfromconception to releaseofSteamroller and Violin setthetoneforthebattlesoverTarkovskii's laterfilms, Bird'saccount of the makingof Andrei Rublev (1966) offers some intriguing insights into Tarkovskii's ability to,on occasion,handletheauthorities withconsiderable politicalastuteness. The 'patriotic'language employedby Tarkovskiiand AndronKonchalovskii intheir introduction tothescreenplay is,forBird,one exampleofTarkovskii as 'a consummate manofthesystem, anything butthe semi-outcast thathe becameafter thefilm's completion in 1966'(p. 40). Elements ofCinema is,likeBird'sprevious bookon Tarkovskii, Andrei Rublev, beautifully illustrated, and thechoiceoffilm stills, reproductions ofpaintings and otherimagesis effective and thought-provoking. The pairingofthestill ofthefinalsceneofNostalghia, in whichGorchakov's Russianhomeemerges in the ruinsof the cathedralof Galgano, withCaspar David Friedrich's romantic RuinatEldena(1824),*sparticularly intriguing (p. 67). The author's own 'Roadside Picnic' and 'Zone', takennear Tuchkovoin 2006 forma moreunsettling, contemporary echo to bothStalker (1979)and Mirror (1974) (pp. 68-69). Bird'sprimary interest inthisbook,however, isan investigation ofwhathe terms Tarkovskii's 'senseofcinematic pitch'rather thanan elucidation ofany 'discursive meaning'to thefilms, and to thisend hismainfocusthroughout is on Tarkovskii's technique,the 'elements'of his filmmaking (p. 9). The discussion oftheroleofstory in Tarkovskii's films is particularly perceptive. He arguesthatTarkovskii's stories wereessentially 'pointsofdeparture for creating filmsof atmosphere and texture, in whichconventional narrative 734 SEER, 88, 4, OCTOBER 2OIO schemesbecometracings ofan unprecedented potentiality', and goes on to assertthat,exceptforSacrifice (1986),'each ofhisfilms is profoundly "Soviet" in itspointof departure - in its theme,storyand characters. However, theSovietbackground ofhisfilms is onlytheframework forthemoreuniversal projectof exploring new modes of attending to theworld'(p. 49). Bird identifies here a fundamental pointabout Tarkovskii as an artist, namely thathisprojectwas an aesthetic one, an ongoingexperimentation withthe instruments ofcinemato 'imprint and record'reality, through thecreation ofhisinimitable 'cinematic texture' (p. 9). The different stories ofthefilms, and indeedofhistheatre productions and variousunrealized projects are on one leveljust the raw materialforthisattemptto createa reality which extends farbeyondthephotographic in itsevocationofthatelusivesenseof 'contingency and potentiality' (p. 9). Chapterson sound and atmosphere in the filmsprovidean interesting commentary on Tarkovskii's methodforachieving thiskindofrich,multiple realityon screen.Bird arguesthat,as withhis use of colour,'over time Tarkovsky increasingly employedsoundto punctuate and inflect theimages in unexpected, complexways' (p. 156).In Tarkovskii's practice - even in themakingof his finalfilmSacrifice in Sweden- of dubbingin all sound afterfilming, Bird sees a 'consciouspoeticsof desynchronization' at work rather thana Soviethabit.In releasing theimagefromitsusualfixedaural associations, he enablesitto becomemoreuniversal, moremultifaceted and moresuggestive of'thatwhichliesoff-screen and beyondthegaze' (p. 209). Birdcomesdownfirmly on thesideofthosewhoseeTarkovskii as a 'great practioner', rather thana 'greatthinker'. In thisnewbook,withitsemphasis on thedetailofTarkovskii's method,he presents a convincing case forthis view. UCL SSEES Chiara Mayer-Riegkh Hames,Peter(ed.). TheCinema of JanSvankmqjer: DarkAlchemy. Secondedition. Directors'Cuts. Wallflower Press,London and New York,2008. vii + 247 pp. Illustrations. Notes. Filmography. Bibliography. Index. £16.99 (paperback). Peter Hames's The Cinema ofJan Svankmqjer is the second editionof his Dark Alchemy: TheFilms of JanSvankmqjer published byFlicksBooksin 1995,and thesecondoftwovolumeseditedbyHames on Czech cinematobe reprinted byWallflower Press.The first, TheCzechoslovak NewWave (Berkeley, CA, 1985) appearedin 2005.The factthatWallflower has reprinted theseworks testifies to Hames's highstanding as a specialist in Czechoslovak/ Czech and Slovak cinema.He has been themain authority on thistopicin theWestforthe lasttwenty years,and is one ofthemostrespected specialists in theCzech Republicand Slovakia.He has a vastknowledge and inexhaustible curiosity aboutold and newCzech and Slovakfilms...