Nostalghia (1983)

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.
Cast and Information
Directed By: Andrei Tarkovsky
Written By: Tonino Guerra, Andrei Tarkovsky
Starring: Erland Josephson, Milena Vukotic, Oleg Yankovsky, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Delia Boccardo, Piero Vida, Domiziana Giordano, Laura De Marchi, Livio Galassi, Raffaele Di Mario, Patrizia Terreno, Elena Magoia
Genre: Drama
AKA: Nostalgia
Country: Italy, Soviet Union
Where to Stream

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Hawkins | 83 75th |
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).
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4 | CatScandal | 30 1st |
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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.
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4 | ![]() |
hehejaja | 100 99th |
Leave you breathless; if I'm in the right mood, this is THE shit.
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MartinTeller | 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.
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3 | ![]() |
TedDedon | 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.
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Valenzetti | 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.
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3 | donquixotic | 10 8th |
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I'm sure this is brilliant but it put me to sleep multiple times over multiple attempts to watch
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Moribunny | 43 30th |
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?
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Dorkovsky | 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.
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JooJoo | 5 80th |
The kind of ponderous, soul-searching narrative that fits right alongside Tarkovsky's penchant for amazing cinematography.
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Mentaculus | 90 89th |
The sequence with the candle and the pool is so infuriating it is literally breathtaking. That is some gorgeous cinematic chicanery.
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2 | psychedelicr | 95 94th |
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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.
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Rufam | 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.
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2 | whatisitisee | 95 99th |
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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
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Yiannos | 68 65th |
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.
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creaglu | 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.
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2 | Rd. Vortex | 100 98th |
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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.
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feublo | 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.
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Actionberg | 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.
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djross | 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.
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PeaceAnarchy | 80 61st |
Beautiful film but you have to be willing to give it your full attention.
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ronthedog | 83 72nd |
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.
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Calexico | 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.
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KAH | 4 93rd |
An ode to the great deed and selflessness. Some of the best sequences Tarkovsky did can be found in this movie.
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1 | aethling | 89 97th |
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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.
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Lilarcor | 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.
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jfisherman | 93 87th |
Visual poetry through the surreal and the oneiric.
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1 | jonnykungfu | 85 86th |
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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.
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ribcage | 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.
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loc42 | 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.
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karamazov. | 80 97th |
Basically an extension of MIRROR.
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karatoprak | 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.
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JSchlansky | 99 98th |
Attended the North American premiere of the new restoration print at the Academy Museum
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Feraud | 27 18th |
Too weird and long-winded.
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1 | Zipster | 75 30th |
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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.
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boomdiddly | 91 93rd |
The most interesting boring film I've ever seen.
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le mami | 60 52nd |
bi daha izlemek lazım fakat tarkovski kendi parodisini yapmış gibi geldi.
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peyrin | 75 69th |
This might be Tarkovsky's most painterly film. So many shots reminiscent of still lifes and landscapes.
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Average Percentile 74.03% from 1334 Ratings | ![]() |