Andrey Tarkovsky - Sculpting in Time

So how about some reading material? More specifically: literature about film. Ha, the irony.

Tarkovsky is my favorite European filmmaker so I'm not sure if I can really give a subjective description of this book so I'll guess I'll try to just briefly explain what he writes about here. I guess you could argue that his movies (especially his later ones) tend to get overcomplicated, plot-less and pretentious at times. In this relatively short book Tarkovsky tries to explain why he avoids plot centered movies in his (then actual) career and expresses much sadness over the fact that people tend to over analyze his movies looking for symbols and meanings that just aren't there. Since he wrote this not long before his death it gives us the opportunity to read about what he thought about all of his major movies (and some early student films as well).

It's not a book that will tell you how to watch his movies nor will it explain explicitly their meanings. He argues that every work of art is supposed to be a unique experience for every person. The movies he makes mean a lot to him but he also wishes for the watcher to get something out of it, to understand life a little better and to know himself a little better. Another theme he vastly covers is the comparison between literary and film works and how to separate them since he believes that film should not be just a visual experience of a novel.

Apart from discussing art and film art in general Tarkovsky also has several sections in the book explaining how he works with his crew, how to direct their craft and how to deal with actors to bring up their most natural side. He often likes in these sections to mention some of his influences and also works that he thinks not very highly of.

In general, if you are interested in cinema I warmly recommend this book as it covers a lot of topics and it's written in a very understandable way. Sometimes it seems that Tarkovsky wanders off in his writings and that is perhaps the biggest flaw of the book but since he isn't exactly a writer I think we can overlook that.

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