Listen, Tarkovsky’s ‘Andrei Rublev’ is but a neo modern take
of Milton’s classic epic Paradise lost, but produced with a far more complex
cantology, made with a complex master class embellishment of Russian literary
and artistic history, the influence of Dostoyevsky’s Brothers Karamazov and Idiot
loaded in , as a backdrop tribute, catapults the film to a league of its own , the
film surely deserves a massive round of all round applause, it’s probably one
of Cinema’s and Cinematic history’s most defiant product yet, the industry’s most
complex cinematic treatise, ever thought of, ever even dreamt of, creating, anything
of that scale, in modern cinema, by a single director with the help of a single
production house is just not ever possible.
Ever.
That was Prof. Ezekiel, Annie’s father talking.
Annie and Dan were seated right next giving the Prof all their
attention.
Dan agreed
“ Tarkovsky’s epic, was what it turned out to be , in every
frame. A rare and almost impossible epic of art.”
Now Annie added
“But it failed in doing what it was it was supposed to do. It
succeeded, where it was not supposed to. It was started as a journey to put
Russia and Russia’s Renaissance in perspective to European Renaissance, but
ended up becoming a paean to World Cinema and put Tarkovsky in the list of all
time greats.”
That was not the really the whole real objective. Interjected
the Prof.
Annie nodded and so did Daniel. They were both now with Mr.
Ezekiel, Annie’s father - a film historian, critic and teacher of
Cinematography. They were with him when he had chosen to visit the Mumbai University,
Daniel was then a student of J.J School of Arts. Annie, had just come visiting
on a University exchange program, as a graduate student, invited by Mumbai
University.
Prof. Ezekiel was then a Phd. Guide at Mumbai University for
Research Scholars contributing their thesis on Post Modern art and
Expressionism.
Tarkovsky’s Andrei Rubalev had just been screened at the
University’s auditorium .
Annie was invited, since she was around.
She in turn had invited Daniel.
Since he too was around.
They were at Daniel’s pad opp. Kala Ghoda in Mumbai.
They were sitting over a circle of marble chairs fixed on
the Penthouse, terrace garden of Daniel’s house that was overlooking Mahalaxmi
and Worli on one side , the left.
Sandhurst Road and Parel on the other side, the right.
The south side faced the dockyard.
The Mumbai night air was warm, mild and balmy.
Daniel rolled a weed and lit.
Prof. Ezekiel and Annie took a drag each and returned to
their chat.
Prof. Ezekiel continued .
Tarkovsky’s grand epic worked because right from the start
the journey between the then Government of Russia , under Brezhnev and the ‘advisors’
of Tarkovsky were very clear, create a Russian chapter that would equal the might
and power of the European renaissance with a Russian garnish.
Many of Tarkovsky;s attempts to finish Rubalev were Quixotic
since it was one man’s broad interpretation of a humungous idea, to put
together an artistic journey that took great pains to chip in a piece of cheese
into the cauldron called European Renaissance the 17th Century
Russia and the almost current.
In the end if you notice, the film ends with a sense of
decadence. With the camera panning on close up shots of the worn, peeling out ,
ill maintained paintings of Rubalev.
It was Annie’s turn to contribute
“Russia always has felt that it is indeed the very fountainhead
of European intellectual history and progress but somehow also felt that most
European nations were too cynical in allowing the country its due”.
Annie was about to continue, but Daniel waved to signal
Annie to pause, since he wanted to make sure the dictaphone they had kept on the
marble table in the centre could record their conversation without the sound of
the Mumbai sea breeze sounds contaminating the content of their chat.
So he was in charge of continuously changing the angle of
the Dictaphone’s micro phone to face away from direct breeze and place it closer
to the person talking.
He had already met a number of Critics of the Post Modern
European Art and a few other friends talking on the subject Cinematic Art and Aesthetics,
being a student at the JJ School of art , he had already met a number of Critics of Cinema Aesthetics talking and
airing a lot of stiff on a lot of things, he for his part always ensured he
archived most of their chat .
So he was quiet.
Prof. Ezekiel – Annie’s father - looked set to talk well
into the day.
Annie and Daniel sat cross legged, smoking and giving all their
attention.
The Prof. helped himself to a light drag of the weed from his
daughter and then returned it, this time to Dan.
To ensure continuity to the conversation Dan chipped in –
‘But Europe had always failed to recognise Russia as a
country with any kind of artistic flair, other than some bits of literature and
poetry.
Purely lead by Tolstoy and Pushkin. Right ? He asked.
Annie came in
Russians always felt that somehow it had ignored to aggressively
counter the consistent attempts of the likes of Gibbon, Huxley, Russell and even
George Bernard Shaw and others and
grudged the fact that these people had collectively usurped the true
superiority of Russia and Russian artistic leadership.
Now the Prof. added
‘Russia always felt that had been deliberately left out of
most of the intellectual movement of Europe and that Europe often reserved just
left handed compliments to the likes of Tolstoy and Turgenev as opposed to a Proust
or a Goethe or Shakespeare, on that side, in America even a Arthur Miller
managed better appreciation, the exclusion of Russia and the efforts to keep it
outside of the European art scene and beyond finally culminated in Russia
funding Tarkovsky’s magnum opus Andrei Rublev.
And it cannot be denied that he film did manage to bring Russia
and Europe closer using Greece in place of Italy as a common ground , to bind
the two tectonic polar plateaus together, and then try merge the two while at
the same time assuage a deep- felt anguish, in Russia.
Dan looked at Annie
As She added
“that Europe largely ignored the Russian Renaissance.” The
Prof nodded at his daughter and then smiled at Dan making it clear how much he
enjoyed their company.
They too acknowledged with a smile.
You should not miss the same director’s Mirror, it is a semi-auto
biographical film but the Tarkovskyan motifs by hen become very clear.
Daniel by then had already made a decision to create a
Musical art production of Shelley’s Prometheus. And he had already spoken to
Prof. Ezekiel about the project and how he looked forward to his help.
Prof. Ezekiel had gracefully agreed to assist Daniel on the project.
Daniel's thoughts veered back to reality when he was woken up
by the stewardess of Lufthansa who was doing her duty of informing passengers, the
flight was all set to land.
London.
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