Nostalghia

Nostalghia

1983
Drama
2h 5m
The Russian poet Gortchakov, accompanied by guide and translator Eugenia, is traveling through Italy researching the life of an 18th century Russian composer. In a ancient spa town, he meets the lunatic Domenico, who years earlier had imprisoned his own family in a barn to save them from the evils of the world. As Eugenia seeks to tempt Gortchakov into infidelity, he, seeing some deep truth in Domenico's act, becomes drawn to the lunatic.
Your probable score
?

Nostalghia

1983
Drama
2h 5m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 73.89% from 1380 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(1380)
Compact view
Compact view
Rated 30 Jun 2020
83
77th
Doesn't have the most interesting story or set of characters in Tarkovsky's arsenal but has some of the strongest imagery and sense of place. The camera stays high and far, keeping its subjects from ever dominating their environs. As in Stalker, nature reclaims our ruins. As in Rublev, a trial in an earthen pit brings catharsis. As in Solaris, the final shot places home inside foreign territory, abolishing the frontiers of state and soul (see trailer below).
Rated 05 Feb 2008
0
0th
This film is really the height of pretension. It picks the very loftiest of themes: God, sex, nationality, art, what have you, and then simply babbles about them nonsensically with excruciatingly slow camera movement so that they seem like they have meaning. The dialogue is atrocious, the actors are just statues, and the film makes no statement at all, it simply throws an idea out and then moves on without comment. It has some shots that could be brilliant if they had discernible meaning.
Rated 14 May 2008
100
99th
Leave you breathless; if I'm in the right mood, this is THE shit.
Rated 10 Dec 2007
86
87th
The imagery is nothing short of amazing, as if Tarkovsky were painting with film. His long, slow tracking shots often leave figures on one side of the frame and mysteriously catch them later on the other side. The thing that completely confounds me is the significance of Eugenia, the translator. It's possible that she represents the more material, secular world that Andrei is drifting away from, but I might be grasping at straws there. I look forward to future viewings to give it more thought.
Rated 04 Mar 2008
97
97th
Perhaps the most accessible of Tarkovsky's movies, Nostalghia treats us to a more character-driven film while still indulging the same artistic beauty and theologically riveting themes behind the storytelling. There is not a doubt in my mind that Tarkovsky is a genius, and he is one of the only directors capable of creating such atmospheric and remarkable movies. I can't really express how much I love this movie, just know that you should see it and that it's one of Tarkovsky's best.
Rated 02 Nov 2010
100
99th
Tarkovksy, more than any other director, hits me on a deeply personal level, and for that reason I recognize that I can't be too objective when considering some of his films. This is one of those films. It may have problems, but I just can't tell. It tears me apart.
Rated 26 Sep 2011
65
42nd
"Nostalghia" looks gorgeous (especially the sepia-toned segments) and it feels as it must be absolutely important, although, frankly, I can't really find a way to connect with it. There are some stunning shots, an impressive cremation scene towards the ending and some semi-interesting babbling about abstract matters. The film's look and feel is appealing, but its content seems facile and alienating, and that's what Tarkovsky struggles to distract us from through the brilliance of his technique.
Rated 04 Jan 2016
10
8th
I'm sure this is brilliant but it put me to sleep multiple times over multiple attempts to watch
Rated 11 Aug 2008
95
94th
Even as an Atheist, I found Tarkovsky's Christian spirituality in this film to be extremely moving. And who can forget the images that he sculpts onto the cinematic screen? Of a man burning, of a feather falling, of a child's face, of the morning sun? The film says a lot without having much dialogue, and the subtlety in the acting is comparable to most Japanese masterpieces. Like Mirror, Tarkovsky had been able to convey the emotion of dreaming without the pretension of dreams. Incredible.
Rated 10 Sep 2008
10
99th
It's Tarkovsky so there's no question of its gorgeous imagery and it is ambiguous enough to invite many viewings but not completely obscure to the point of confusion or boredom.
Rated 11 Sep 2009
5
80th
The kind of ponderous, soul-searching narrative that fits right alongside Tarkovsky's penchant for amazing cinematography.
Rated 22 Dec 2012
43
31st
Another two hours of laborious, seemingly endless one-shots of pretty locations and sets, water and fire and mirrory stuff that photographs well, dogs lulling about, and occasionally a metallic line of dialogue. Are we moved by Nostalghia's scanty little plot, is a single character sympathetic or interesting, did we gain any genuine ideas or insights from this? Are we really stoked if the camera spends three whole minutes swaying out rather than in, left rather than right across the set?
Rated 10 Feb 2014
95
99th
One of the central ideas explored here is "untraslatability" and its manifestations in art, spirituality, and interaction...some criticize this film as being meandering and without direction, but I think this misses the deeper point. Dialogue and discussion into these various subjects are sacrificed in lieu of the commonalities between and the effortless grace with which Tarkovsky depicts them. The entire atmosphere of the movie is transfigured in a manner unrivaled by any other
Rated 13 May 2015
90
89th
The sequence with the candle and the pool is so infuriating it is literally breathtaking. That is some gorgeous cinematic chicanery.
Rated 17 Jun 2015
95
98th
A film about the nature of art itself, about how the only true human emotion is dedication to something we deem above us - a search for our own personal redemption through faithfulness to a vision.
Rated 16 Jan 2016
100
98th
To be honest I have no idea what to say after watching this. Great movie, somehow really captivating and after finishing it I was left completely puzzled. Can't remember any other film that would have left me feeling so confused.
Rated 20 Jan 2016
91
94th
The most interesting boring film I've ever seen.
Rated 28 Dec 2016
68
66th
Influenced by his own exile, Nostalghia is Tarkovsky's reflection on homesickness and spiritual crisis, rendered in his usual languorous style. Religious themes figure prominently, as they do in The Sacrifice, which represents a turn towards convention that makes his late works seem less complex and mysterious. There are many beautiful scenes, and the imagery, while repetitive, is striking, but it is also more ponderous and indulgent, despite (or because of) its intensely personal vision.
Rated 01 Apr 2020
90
90th
Maybe it's the current state of the world rn, but I'm troubled after viewing this. Contains one of the purest monologues I've connected with and is peeled back from a typical Tarkovsky narrative. One continues to tolerate life's despair as memories cast shadow endlessly.
Rated 29 Apr 2009
4
93rd
An ode to the great deed and selflessness. Some of the best sequences Tarkovsky did can be found in this movie.
Rated 13 Sep 2009
83
71st
Difficult to say too much about this from just one viewing except that it has the usual stunning imagery and tableaux that characterise Tarkovksy's best work.
Rated 12 Oct 2009
67
34th
Pretentious and dull, but very pretty.
Rated 09 May 2010
80
91st
Undeniably very slow; equally undeniably the film contains scene after scene of some of the most remarkable imagery cinema has created, imagery that seems in some cases drawn directly from the unconscious and extending beyond any terrestrial realm. The theological message of this film, like that of THE SACRIFICE, may be open to interpretation but it also seems, to me at least, somewhat questionable. Nevertheless, despite this, and despite the pace, it definitely develops a certain power.
Rated 21 Aug 2010
80
61st
Beautiful film but you have to be willing to give it your full attention.
Rated 03 Aug 2011
85
86th
Slow even for a Tarkovsky film. This is the first of his films that I've actually struggled to get though. It didn't feel like it had an underlying theme throughout the film in the way that his other films do, and though there is some interesting dialogue, it never feels incredibly cohesive. The imagery is absolutely amazing, though, as it always is with Tarkovsky. I'm just going to have to give this one another viewing to understand it a bit more.
Rated 05 Aug 2012
85
84th
The poetic beauty of Nostalghia is unforgettable, and I say that without having much of a clear idea of what happened in the movie. What I do know is that it hits me in the heart, and that it forces me to see that in the chaos and irrational process of these strange realities that Tarkovsky has molded, there is a profound yet unknowable truth, and that the futile exploration of this, or better yet, the hand reaching out for that truth, is where humanity's story lies.
Rated 11 Sep 2012
89
97th
Brilliant, brilliant and brilliant. Completely stunning aesthetically as well. Didn't leave me anywhere near as confused as Stalker or Solaris, and just felt deeply profound. It was also a completely 'Italian' film - mothers, God, fire, madness - it could so easily have been Bertolucci if he was MUCH MUCH better.
Rated 08 Oct 2012
93
87th
Visual poetry through the surreal and the oneiric.
Rated 11 May 2014
80
97th
Basically an extension of MIRROR.
Rated 12 Aug 2014
75
30th
Despite its effective sense of dreary atmosphere I couldn't connect personally to the methapors and symbolism that trumped any lucid reality, nor is it easy for stifled performances by typically powerful actors or relentlessly bookish dialogue to appeal to me. Nevertheless, there is no denying the strange metaphysical power of the last minutes.
Rated 16 Sep 2014
55
32nd
unlike earlier tarkovsky films it seemed overly pretentious and its like the exaggeration of the poetic cinema which only lefts pornography of the search for excellence at the end as a taste.
Rated 06 Dec 2014
78
62nd
Tarkovsky goes a bit overboard here (and knows it, it has never rained more inside in a movie) but it's stunning to watch. Two characters are hard to grasp unfortunately as Tarkovsky puts perhaps too much for us to consider in them, making things more unclear than they have to be.
Rated 01 Jan 2015
27
20th
Too weird and long-winded.
Rated 15 Feb 2015
75
68th
tarkovsky is very good at striking visuals and luscious soundscapes...but it still becomes tedium several times through this excruciatingly slow film. felt the same, but to a lesser degree about stalker. he's got some good ideas and plays with his philosophical themes decently though. glad i watched it, wont ever watch again.
Rated 28 May 2018
55
10th
I loved Stalker, but oh man this movie 1) made no sense, 2) was exhausting to watch, 3) made no sense, 4) was exhausting to watch, 5) made no sense.
Rated 23 Jan 2019
77
72nd
as usual, i fell asleep on the couch after one hour while watching this gem and dreamt of the lady's wild hair. thanks tarkovsky.
Rated 06 Jun 2019
75
69th
This might be Tarkovsky's most painterly film. So many shots reminiscent of still lifes and landscapes.
Rated 15 Mar 2021
60
52nd
bi daha izlemek lazım fakat tarkovski kendi parodisini yapmış gibi geldi.
Rated 18 Dec 2022
99
98th
Attended the North American premiere of the new restoration print at the Academy Museum
Rated 07 Sep 2007
99
99th
So beautiful.
Rated 16 Nov 2007
78
88th
somewhat wandery, but imagistically strong.
Rated 15 Dec 2007
85
91st
The worst Tarkovsky but still pretty good.
Rated 01 Mar 2008
80
68th
# 406
Rated 19 Dec 2008
79
58th
425
Rated 18 May 2009
93
98th
Great Movie
Rated 07 Nov 2009
9
90th
A film that didn't cause a sense of detachment or boredom, probably the reason why Tarkosvky himself found his film "tedious". The spellbinding imagery and themes don't distract from the narrative. Although I haven't deciphered everything, this is without a doubt one of Tarkovsky's best films and definitely worth revisiting.
Rated 14 Jan 2010
78
56th
431
Rated 22 Nov 2011
88
87th
ladne futryny i w ogole
Rated 30 Nov 2011
78
56th
#444
Rated 05 Feb 2012
75
75th
beautifully shot and a very strong first half. ends up way too meandering and incomprehensible for my taste.
Rated 29 May 2012
9
81st
Although I prefer the more traditional narrative of Ivan's Childhood, the cinematography in this one is just as fantastic. Worth a watch just to take it all in, even if the storyline is a bit dense.
Rated 13 Aug 2012
75
67th
As typical with this director's work, it exists in a universe of elevated metaphors where characters contemplate their problems with existence. The scenes between Gortchakov and Domenico are, content-wise, nearly impenetrable. Aesthetically, films this beautiful are not made anymore.
Rated 19 Jan 2013
79
40th
gorgeous & mysterious. not quite as captivating as some of tarkovskys other work, but as usual, his ability to explore physical space and attach metaphysical meaning to it is incredible
Rated 18 Feb 2013
78
67th
Dilediginde mumu sondurmeyen yuce bir kollayicinin daima himayesi altindayiz. Nostalghia'deki yatak uyumak icin degildir. O'nu izlemek icin yatagin gercekligini kesfetmek gibi bir sorumluluk hissine kapiliyorsun.
Rated 30 Jul 2013
83
69th
horrible acting by domiziana giordano, the only bad thing I have to say about this otherwise great film.
Rated 26 Dec 2013
6
83rd
i wasn't even really paying attention to what was being said but the cinematography was so utterly incredible that i was still hypnotised in a sleepy relaxation that felt almost transcendental. in saying that, its message mostly eluded me, but significant religious discussion and nostalgic reflection seems to suggest something not particularly palatable. but whatever. it was more experiential than anything.
Rated 30 Jul 2014
77
62nd
A meandering daydream that won me over with ubiquitous long takes.
Rated 02 Jan 2015
50
0th
Andrei Tarkovsky #2
Rated 28 Aug 2015
91
98th
bir kaç kere daha izlemek lazım
Rated 27 Jan 2016
90
94th
candle
Rated 12 Aug 2018
50
47th
Stalker'ın aynısı, Sacrifice'ın bir versiyonuydu. Üçünde de başrol dindardır, filmde haklı çıkarlar, suda yürüyerek ateist gibi varoluş sancısı çekerler, ailesini çok sevdikleri için durmadan hatıralarını siyah beyaz ekranda görürler, dünyanın sonunun gelmesinden korkarlar, bohemdirler, çevredeki insanlar onları sevmez, doğa çekimleri durum hikayesinin önüne geçer. Bu kadar kendini tekrar eden ve en kötüsü muhafazakar yönetmen sorgulanmalı.
Rated 07 Nov 2018
100
99th
sublime
Rated 24 Mar 2019
79
61st
Çekilecek dert değil.
Rated 29 Sep 2019
44
38th
All of the inaccessibility of Mirror but without the "charm" of inhabiting someone else's accrued memories. This goes down an allegorical path, at the end of which you're wondering if there's anything there.
Rated 21 Dec 2019
96
98th
Aquário
Rated 26 Aug 2020
60
35th
I once saw all of Monet's waterlillies collected in an exhibition. Individually, they're beautiful, but the repetition in that gallery made them seem almost pedestrian. With Tarkovsky's films, you get a lot of mirrors and rain (and dogs and horses), world-weary men, and long ponderous shots. The imagery is breathtaking, but after a while, it starts to feel like you've seen all this before.
Rated 27 Aug 2020
100
94th
Terminando Tarkovsky, esta sea es cine en su estado puro.
Rated 23 Sep 2020
90
94th
23.09.2020 Ä°stanbul Kartal
Rated 02 Feb 2021
4
93rd
With "Zerkalo", it has the ending that left me speechless, completely stunned, wondering how a mere mortal could do this.
Rated 15 Sep 2021
85
65th
tekrar izlenecek
Rated 03 Dec 2021
72
77th
I think I prefer it to Stalker.
Rated 22 Sep 2022
59
18th
I usually like Tarkovsky a lot, but I thought this one fell on the wrong side of pretentious/inaccessible. It's beautiful aesthetically and artistically, as you'd expect, but I never really got it, and it didn't draw me in as much as most of Tarkovsky's output. Having seen The Turin Horse recently, I was struck by how much Bela Tarr was obviously influenced by Tarkovsky while watching this in his camera movements, etc.
Rated 09 Aug 2023
80
60th
It occurred to me watching this that Tarkovsky seems obsessed with water, here more than in any other of his films. And nearing the end, where there was water and no longer is, our hero (?) finally gets his salvation and the world rejoices...i think ? i don't pretend to really understand Tarkovsky's work, it seems incredibly lyrical and may not always translate so well (that bit about art not being translatable made me chuckle)
Rated 13 Jan 2024
93
80th
Obscure to the point my mind really started to wander. But the images are stunning beyond anything you'll see from any other film maker. There are images that will call me back. Just like Tarkovsky's other films, I will seek this one out again and again throughout my life.
Rated 12 Feb 2024
50
29th
Solid performances and some very pretty pictures, sure, but I was neither entertained nor enticed to try to decipher it.

Collections

(56)
Compact view
Showing 1 - 24 of 56 results

Similar Titles

Loading ...

Statistics

Loading ...