It is a brilliant movie in many ways. The visuals are stunning and haunting. Several of the scenes will remain imprinted on your memory forever. The script is literate and thought-provoking. Like any great work of art, it is not pedantic, but open to interaction with the viewer.
If it were 90 minutes long, it might be the greatest movie ever made. Unfortunately, it is 160 minutes long, and the extra footage can be tedious beyond belief and seems to do nothing to further the story or enhance the mood.
Tarkovsky makes every point with a sledgehammer, never with a scalpel. This can be supernaturally effective. It can also impel you to yell "get on with it" or "you already said that" at the screen.
I view this film as a great achievement, and yet a failure in that Tarkovsky's acquaintance with Western literature apparently did not include an encounter with the phrase "brevity is the soul of wit". As great as it is, how great might it have been!
If it were 90 minutes long, it might be the greatest movie ever made. Unfortunately, it is 160 minutes long, and the extra footage can be tedious beyond belief and seems to do nothing to further the story or enhance the mood.
Tarkovsky makes every point with a sledgehammer, never with a scalpel. This can be supernaturally effective. It can also impel you to yell "get on with it" or "you already said that" at the screen.
I view this film as a great achievement, and yet a failure in that Tarkovsky's acquaintance with Western literature apparently did not include an encounter with the phrase "brevity is the soul of wit". As great as it is, how great might it have been!