This is an insightful and informative interview with Natalya Bondarchuk, who played Hari in Solaris. Hari is one of my fictionary crushes and Natalya Bondarchuk reportedly had a crush on Tarkovsky while shooting Solaris.

Tarkovsky obviously let her audition for the role based on her look and her name. Natalya Bondarchuk's father was the renowed Russian film director Sergey Bondarchuk.

Tarkovsky appearantly recieved money from The Vatican, which is new information for me, although I know that Andrei Rublev and The Sacrifice are on The Vatican's recommended films lists.

The role of Hari was Natalya Bondarchuk's favorite role in her career. Tarkovsky valued har acting in Solaris high, writing "Natalya Bondarchuk has outshone all." in his diaries.

These are some quotes from an interview with Tarkovsky made by Veikko Korkala and published in a Swedish newspaper in 1981. I don't think that these quotes have been published in English before, correct me if I am wrong.

"Art has an important function when it comes to solving the spiritual crisis in today's world. There must be something that stimulates the spiritual progression and develop humanity's own self, something that makes her strive for humanity and individuality.

What I myself do in art is based on my belief in the dignity of mankind and of the value of the people that my films are meant for, as well as the value that the maker of them should possess."

"Mankind's central problem is that she has no trust in nature and even though there should be enough of signs, humanity usually doesn't realize that she finds herself in the middle of a with this coherent crisis.

Humanity has reflected far to little on the possibility of a balanced technological development, with which its development at least partially is adapted to living nature."

"I have now made five films in the span of twenty years. There has been possibilities for faster realizations of their productions and I would like to have done more, but on the other hand I have no intention to hasten the development. I chosed consciously to "stay within myself". My starting point was firm and simple: To preserve my personality and make the films that I wanted to make I had to have patience."

Does anyone know the size of the nuts used, or what the closest modern equivalent would be?

the ones that find Mr T boring are the ones that find reading boring

I've always wanted to paint this. Finally found the courage to do so.

Interview at Yevgeni Zharikov Actor in the Ivan's Childhood (Иваново детство, 1962) as Lt. Galtse

So yesterday there was a film screening of Andrei Tarkovsky: A cinema prayer near my home. I had almost forgotten about it but I was able to make it in time and damn it was so good. But surprise surprise, his son was there too to promote the film and talk about the work and life of his father and i was ecstatic. Got to find out more about my favourite filmmaker directly from his son like damn im so happy and I was able to not only shake hands with him but also thank him and his father for everything and have a lil conversation. All this while I was still high but all in all that was a spiritual experience and I’m still amazed that happened. Got a lil selfie with him too, im still smiling

"To make a film you need money. To write a poem all you need is pen and paper. This puts cinema at a disadvantage, but I think cinema is invincible and I bow down to all the directors who try to realise their own films despite everything."

"It's not that I don't want to be understood, but I can't, like say Spielberg, make a film for the general public. If you want to reach a general audience, you have to make films like Star Wars or Superman which have nothing to do with art. This doesn't mean I treat the public like idiots, but I certianily don't take pains to please them."

"I assume there are only five directors in the whole world who can assert that they have reached the position that gives them the well earned right to make the films that they want: Bresson, Bergman, Fellini, Antonioni...it seems to be hard to even find five. Buñuel, of course, but he often makes commercial films as well."

As you can see Tarkovsky had good access to western cinema despite living in the quite closed society of the Soviet Union. He had his carefully selected idols among film directors and he was well-read and had a big interest in music as well.

Tarkovsky's advices to young people: "Learn to love solitude, to be more alone with yourself. The problem with young people is their carrying out noisy and agressive, actions not to feel lonely and this is a sad thing. The individual must learn to be on his own as a child, for this doesn't mean to be alone: it means not to get bored with oneself, wich is a dangerous symptom, almost a disease."

Tarkovsky on wars: "Concering war, I am afraid to even think about it, it is a catastrophe that my my mind can't fully grasp. Every time I think of it, my mind gets dizzy. I am not only thinking about the violence in itself, how repulsive it is, I am also thinking of the constraint, whitch is a constraint against the dignity of man, on how all who absolutely don't want to be a part of it are forced to participate. I have seen war closely and I know what it can do to people."

Said shortly: Love solitude, hate war.

"My relationship with the world is more emotional. I have a contemplative relationship with reality. I don't think about reality, I try to percieve it. My relationship with reality is like that of an animal or a child, not like a mature adult who thinks and draw conclusions."

"My memory is selective, it memorize some things against my will. I am not saying that my memory is good, quite the contrary. I remember few concrete details, but I have a strong emotional memory. I remember feelings better than meetings, people or situations."

"The present is hard to grasp, it evades us like sand pouring between our fingers. The present gets its material weight only in our memories."

"I percieve my defenslessness, as well as that of all humanity, towards the world and nature and especially towards a hostile person. This is the worst of all. The worst of all is to be subjected to human violence. The evil in humanity is the worst there is."

From the album "Écailles de Lune" (2010), Alcest from France.

Scenes from Solaris (1972), directed by Andrei Tarkovsky.

Sur l'océan couleur de fer Pleurait un choeur immense Et ces longs cris dont la démence Semble percer l'enfer

Et puis la mort, et le silence Montant comme un mur noir ...Parfois au loin se laissait voir Un feu qui se balance

(English Translation)

On the iron-coloured ocean Cried an immense choir And those long screams whose insanity Seemed to pierce through hell

And then death, and silence Rising like a black wall ... Sometimes, in the distance, can be seen A swaying fire

The lyrics of this song are based on a poem written by Paul-Jean Toulet, it is found as “Contrerime LXVI” in a poem collection named “Les Contrerimes” which was published in 1921.

edited by @introspectiveboi (youtube/instagram) — @introspective_boi (reddit) — 2017. available on the youtube channel: "here come the painbirds".

Video and audio content: I don't hold copyright or anything. I'm simply posting this for fans like me to enjoy what has been created in hopes they will buy both the music and the film. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Omg the cinematography and everything else is unbelievable

Hi! I watched Andrei Rublev a year ago and it really generated a deep impact on me. Today I was looking for some words of Tarkovsky about his film, I found one, but idw how to confirm it's real. Does anyone have a realiable source for an interview or talk Tarkovsky said about the film?? Thanks in advance 🙏

So far….

"The man who has stolen in order never to thieve again remains a thief. Nobody who has ever betrayed his principles can have a pure relationship with life. Therefore when a film-maker says he will produce a pot-boiler in order to give himself the strength and the means to make the film of his dreams—that is so much deception, or worse, self-deception. He will never now make his film." page 124 Chapter 5

To me it feels a little too idealistic, at the end of the day everyone needs to make money to survive, except if you're rich already. Should then aspiring filmmakers opt for any other job to survive according to Tarkovksy? I'm not sure how to read this quote from him.

Especially nowadays with the access to equipment we have it's even more and more common for aspiring filmmakers to take any type of job just to build the connections in the industry, and eventually have more means to produce their films. But wanting to make your artistic film out of the blue seems to me a little unrealistic. I don't think making ads/mainstream film necessary contaminates oneself true aspiration.

What's your take?

This is a clip from Kris Kelvin's dream about his mother in Solaris (1972). Notice the Tarkovsky trademarks; a leatherbound book, an apple, plants, glass, water, a painting by Brueghel, layers of plastic and some other elements of his typical aesthetics as well. Ohh...I feel like coming home.

"Are you happy?" "Such a concept seems irrelevant." A trademark Tarkovsky Q & A.

Tarkovsky's mother had a great influence on him, so it is no wonder that he made this scene.

"I was brought up by my mother, because my father left her when I was three years old. I think my father had no influence on me, inner influence. We really had no means. My mother got a job as a proofreader at a publishing house and worked there until the end. I cannot comprehend at all how she managed, how she withstood it, even physically. Clearly my mother wanted me to devote myself to art. I own everything to my mother. It was she who helped me to find myself."

Seaweed in a stream; no one else but Tarkovsky would have included it in a science-fiction film and no one else but Tarkovsky could have made a little piece of art of it.

"Of the Russian film directors Dovzhenko is closest to my heart because he felt nature like nobody else, he was really attached to earth. This is for me very important in general. After all, the Soviet filmmakers could not feel nature at all, it didn't resonate with them in any way, it didn't mean anything. Dovzhenko was the only director who did not tear cinematographic imagery away from earth, from life etc. For other directors all this was a background."

"As for the influence of Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Bresson, Buñuel, Bergman and Antonioni on my work, it is not influence in the sense of imitation - from my point of view this would be impossible since imitation has nothing to with the aims of cinema. One has to find one's own language through which to express oneself. To me, influx means being in the company of people whom I admire and esteem. Without the directors I have mentioned, and with the addition of Dovzhenko, there wouldn't be any cinema."

"A man who lacks culture will never create good cinema, never."

Digital art portrait of Margarita Terekhova (OC).

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLXweKEImlw/?igsh=cTRkMHVod2M0c3Ey

"I'd like to live close to nature, in the countryside, where there are few people. Our caged city life is the outcome of a mistake. In the beginning, mankind had to join forces to survive, but now, instead of help and pleasure, we only hurt one and another in large cities."

"Cinema is the only art that operates with the concept of time, not because its developing in time, since so does music, theatre, ballet and other art forms. I mean time in the literal sense. After all, what is a take, from when we say "action!" to when we end it by saying "cut!"? What is happening? It is the fixing of reality, the fixing of time, the conservation of time, for us to keep forever. No other art form can fix time except cinema, so film is a mosaic of time."

"I've always been interested in man's internal world, that's why it's more natural to travel through my main charachter's psyche. I'm interested in the human being, because she has the whole universe inside her."

Musical work? St. John's passion by J.S. Bach.

Russian novel? Crime and punishment by Dostoyevsky. Ivan Ilytch's death by Tolstoy.

Foreign novel? Doktor Faustus by Thomas Mann.

Russian short story? Sunstroke by Bunin.

Foreign short story? Tonio Kröger by Thomas Mann. Maupassant.

Poet? Pushkin.

Colour? Green.

Colour of the hair of a woman? Red.

Do you like children? Very much.

Do you love yourself? I don't love myself.

Are you happy? No.

What is love? A catastrophe.

If you haven't read these quotes they may explain the sombre personality of Andrei Tarkovsky and the lack of cheerful people in his films.

"I can't stand mirth. Cheerful people seem guilty to me, because they can't comprehend the mournful value of existence. I accept happiness only in children and the elderly, with all others I am intolerant."

"Perhaps I was happy as a child and now I've ceased to be happy, because I understand life. Knowledge doesn't make us happier, quite the contrary."

"This world is not a place where we can be happy. It wasn't created for man's happiness, though many believe this is the reason of our existence. I think that we are here to fight, so that good and evil can clash within us and good may prevail, thus enriching us spiritually."