Movies
Tarkovsky's best, but not quite as good as I remembered it to be. I do love the sepia scenes (Avalon, my absolute number one, took a lot of inspiration from this film), but I was less enthusiastic about the color photography and the pacing. I know Tarkovksy likes slow cinema, but there are scenes here that lasted too long. The setup of The Zone is mysterious and the trip within is intriguing, the characters, their forced conversations, and the performances less so. The cinematography is good, and the soundtrack is solid too, but there are a few too many scenes that overstay their welcome, leaving me a little disappointed. The presentation is great, but not great enough to warrant 160 minutes of snail-paced cinema.Read all
An early Tarkovksy that is surprisingly accessible. There are some dreams and flashbacks, other than that this was a pretty straightforward story about a young boy during wartime. The story and characters aren't that interesting, but the cinematography certainly helped to make the film stand out. The cinematography is the clear winner here, the scenes in the swamp in particular are very beautiful (and reminiscent of similar scenes in Come and See). The film could've used a better soundtrack and a little less dialogue, the story itself isn't too special either, but at least Tarkovksy makes sure there's plenty of pretty images to look forward to.Read all
A famous Tarkovsky classic. The man can shoot a pretty picture, but when the focus shifts to dialogue and drama, he loses me completely. The characters are often vessels for Tarkovsky's own inner voice, his last film is no exception. I'm afraid that's just not my kind of cinema. When Tarkovsky aims for atmosphere, The Sacrifice is an interesting film. There's just not enough of that, and the rest really drags things down. The characters are dull, their conversations are didactic and the drama piles up. The runtime didn't really help either, but it's not his worst film either.Read all
