Nostalgia (1983)

A Russian poet and his interpreter travel to Italy to research the life of an 18th-century composer.

Director:

Andrei Tarkovsky (as Andrey Tarkovsky)

Writers:

Andrei Tarkovsky (screenplay) (as Andrey Tarkovsky), Tonino Guerra (screenplay)

Stars:

Oleg Yankovskiy, Erland Josephson, Domiziana Giordano

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Oleg Yankovskiy	...	Andrei Gorchakov (as Oleg Jankovsky)
Erland Josephson	...	Domenico
Domiziana Giordano	...	Eugenia
Patrizia Terreno	...	Andrei's Wife
Laura De Marchi	...	Chambermaid
Delia Boccardo	...	Domenico's Wife
Milena Vukotic	...	Civil Servant
Raffaele Di Mario
Rate Furlan
Livio Galassi
Elena Magoia
Piero Vida

Storyline

The Russian poet Andrei Gorchakov, accompanied by guide and translator Eugenia, is traveling through Italy researching the life of an 18th-century Russian composer. In an ancient spa town, he meets the lunatic Domenico, who years earlier had imprisoned his own family in his house for seven years to save them from the evils of the world. Seeing some deep truth in Domenico's act, Andrei becomes drawn to him. In a series of dreams, the poet's nostalgia for his homeland and his longing for his wife, his ambivalent feelings for Eugenia and Italy, and his sense of kinship with Domenico become intertwined.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | raining | little girl | lighter | cigarette lighter | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy Soviet Union

Language:

Italian Russian

Release Date:

March 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nostalghia

Filming Locations:

Chiesa sommersa di San Vittorino, Cittaducale, Rieti, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,233, 2 June 2013, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$5,233, 2 June 2013

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rai 2, Sovinfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point, Domenico questions mathematics, displaying that "1+1 not equals 2" with two drops of olive oil. This is a reference to one of Guerra's collaborations with Michelangelo Antonioni, Red Desert.

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Quotes

Andrei Gorchakov: What are you reading?
Eugenia: Arseny Tarkovsky's poems.
Andrei Gorchakov: In Russian?
Eugenia: No, it's a translation. Quite a good one.
Andrei Gorchakov: Throw it away.
Eugenia: Why? The translator's a very good poet.
Andrei Gorchakov: Poetry is untranslatable, like the whole of art.
Eugenia: You may be right that poetry is untranslatable. But music? Music for example...

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Crazy Credits

Before the end credits: To the memory of my mother. - Andrei Tarkovsky

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: New Directors, New Form (2011)

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Soundtracks

Kumushki
Traditional Russian folk song
[Heard over the opening credits]

User Reviews

Really, as beautiful as a film can be. As beautiful as art gets.

Words cannot describe Nostalghia, or, indeed, any Tarkovsky film. He is an artist who is completely unique - I can't think of any other auteur like him. I can't even think of any film that I've seen which tries to copy his style. It is inimitable. No one else is as patient. Tarkovsky's pans and zooms can take minutes. The penultimate sequence, where a man has to carry a candle for a certain distance without it going out, should be horribly boring. Any other director would have used a lot of cutting to produce suspense. Yet, with Tarkovsky's brilliant direction, without a single cut for nearly an entire reel, it becomes one of the most suspenseful and, yes, one of the very best scenes ever captured on film.

In fact, the direction's almost too good. This isn't minimalist like some of his previous films such as Solaris and Stalker. It is more like Andrei Rublev: not a second goes by that is not stuffed to the brim, almost flowing over, with brilliant and poetic images. In a way, although in a good way, this distracts the viewer. I was so bowled over by the images of Nostalghia that I had to watch it twice to understand it (it was nearly as difficult the second time around not to be bowled over!). And I totally appreciate that. I was more than happy to explore this film more deeply on a second journey. Thank you Mr. Tarkovsky for making the films that you did. When you sought to fulfill your audiences' lives with your art, you came closer to succeeding than any artist could have. Of course, you couldn't have made life perfect, nor would you have wanted to. For, as you said, if life were perfect, art would be pointless. May my life always be imperfect.