Andrei Rublev

How this film uses it

Tarkovsky's episodes don't speed up toward a climax. They unfold at the pace of medieval life and religious belief. The pacing is pretty much that of a church service. Each scene gets its full length whether or not the story needs it. The rhythm itself is a form of devotion.

Where to see it

The long preparation sequences in the bell-casting episode. The pacing gives the technical process its full weight as a ritual. The film spends its time on what it holds sacred.

How this film uses it

At over 3 hours, Andrei Rublev demands the same patience it shows on screen. The length is the point. You can't shorten the suffering Rublev witnesses and the art he finally produces without losing what makes them meaningful. The runtime is the price you pay for the final color sequence.

Where to see it

The black-and-white episodes, one after another. They build up the weight of time, violence and silence. The final color sequence of Rublev's icons has to earn its place against that.

How this film uses it

Rublev takes a vow of silence after witnessing the Tatar sack of Vladimir, and the film respects it in its form. There are long sequences with no dialogue. The background sounds of medieval Russia carry the weight of the story that speech has left behind. The silence is the pressure of a response he never speaks to overwhelming historical violence.

Where to see it

Rublev's years of silence after the Tatar attack. The film keeps his silence too. The story carries on around a man who has chosen to stop speaking.

How this film uses it

Medieval Russia in Tarkovsky's film is mud, water, fog and grey sky. The landscape is physically accurate and spiritually charged at the same time. Characters move through it as if it records every step. Once again, the point is spiritual. The icon painter's relationship to this earth is the center of the film.

Where to see it

The winter sequences. You see the Russian landscape in snow and mud. Moving through it feels like finding a way through both history and faith.

How this film uses it

The film is entirely in black and white until the final sequence, which is in color. It shows close-ups of Rublev's actual icon paintings. This single burst of color arrives as a revelation. The 3 hours of black-and-white suffering were preparation for this moment. The survival of art gets the strongest emphasis the film can give it.

Where to see it

The final icon sequence. Color enters the film for the first time as Rublev's paintings appear. The contrast says that art rises above the suffering of history.