Une journée d'Andrei Arsenevitch

ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF ANDREI ARSENEVICH is just about the best analysis you will find of Andrei Tarkovsky's film style. It was made by director Chris Marker for the French TV series "Cinema de notre temps" ("Film in Our Time") and in it, I found a lot to meditate on. Tarkovsky was a filmmaker who wanted to elevate film to the level of the other great arts (literature, painting, and music) and this documentary clearly shows how Tarkovsky did it with his own unique way of filmmaking.

Marker's film does a pretty good job editing the final days of Tarkovsky's life, along with how he directed his last film THE SACRIFICE, as well as giving a fine analysis of Tarkovsky's film style. For instance, Marker compares what he calls the typical camera angle of Hollywood (slightly low, framing people against the sky) with the typical camera angle of Tarkovsky's films (slightly high, framing people against the ground). He also analyzes the way that fire and water are typical elements seen in nature, as well as the films of the Russian master.

The film will confuse many who are not familiar with the life and work of film's greatest mystic, but it will satisfy all those who want to view a superb analysis of a cinematic genius!