Nostalghia

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Nostalghia
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
Written by Tonino Guerra
Andrei Tarkovsky
Starring Oleg Yankovsky
Erland Josephson
Domiziana Giordano
Cinematography Giuseppe Lanci
Release date(s) May, 1983 (France)
Running time 125 min
Country USSR, Italy, France
Language Italian, Russian
IMDb profile

Nostalghia (Russian: Ностальгия) is a 1983 film, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and starring Oleg Yankovsky, Domiziana Giordano and Erland Josephson.

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[edit] Synopsis

The film tells the story of a Russian writer, Andrei Gorchakov (Oleg Yankovsky) who travels to Italy to research the life of an 18th century Russian composer, who lived in Italy. The narrative is intercut with abstract dream-like sequences. One theme of the film is the exploration of the expatriate Russian's feelings of displacement, which critics have identified with Tarkovsky's own emotional experience of living in Italy. Other forms of "nostalgia" in the story are various characters' yearnings to overcome their spiritual alienation and mend their physical separation from other people.

[edit] Shooting Details

This was Andrei Tarkovsky's first film directed outside of the USSR. It was supposed to be filmed in Italy with the support of Mosfilm, with most of the dialogue in Italian. When Mosfilm support was inexplicably withdrawn, Tarkovsky used part of the budget provided by Italian State Television and French film company Gaumont to complete the film in Italy and cut some Russian scenes from the screenplay, while recreating Russian locations for other scenes in Italy.

[edit] Notable Scene

Primarily in terms of its visual qualities, several shots from Nostalghia have become famous. One of these is an eight minute, forty five second uninterrupted take of Andrei repeatedly trying to cross a drained outdoor pool carrying a candle, which he must prevent from being extinguished by the wind.


[edit] Music

The film features music by Claude Debussy, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Giuseppe Verdi as well as Russian folk songs. Beethoven's ninth symphony features most prominently.

[edit] Title

The title of the film is the Italian pronunciation for the Russian "Ностальгия" (nostalgia). This was a deliberate choice on the part of Tarkovsky.

[edit] Main cast

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Works of Andrei Tarkovsky
Feature films
Ivan's Childhood • Andrei Rublev • Solaris • Mirror • Stalker • Nostalghia • Voyage in Time (with Tonino Guerra) • The Sacrifice
Student films
Screenplays
Books