THE REFLECTION OF VLADIMIR SOLOVIEV'S PHILOSOPHY IN ANDREI TARKOVSKII'S CINEMATIC NARRATIVES

Abstract

The USSR has produced some of the most influential film directors in history who have created new genres and introduced new filming techniques. Many of these directors have also introduced Soviet cinema to international film festivals and audiences. Andrei Tarkovskii, influenced by the Thaw, was among the first to contribute to the establishment of the Soviet New Wave in the early 1960s. His cinema examines profound philosophical questions and deals with complex human metaphysics. Directing only seven feature films, his cinematography contains various links to different cultures. The cinematic oeuvre of Tarkovskii is characterized by a multifaceted approach to genre, scene and raised issue, which allows for a multitude of interpretations. This study concerns another prominent Russian philosopher, who is regarded as one of the most significant figures in Russian philosophy. Vladimir Soloviev is credited with establishing key concepts that have come to define Russian philosophy since the 19th century–he is the first Russian philosopher to devise a comprehensive system of thought. In the literature devoted to the works of Soloviev, it is frequently asserted that it is from his works that the concepts of All-Unity [Vseedinstvo] become the property of philosophical thought. This study employs the concepts of All-Unity [Vseedinstvo] and Theanthropism [Bogochelovechestvo] as interpretative lenses to examine the complex cinema of Andrei Tarkovskii. The purpose of this research thesis is to address the questions of Russian religious and nature symbolism expressed throughout Andrei Tarkovskii’s The Passion According to Andrei [Strasti po Andreju] (1966) and Stalker (1979). This paper focuses on the metaphors of nature and those representing the components of Vladimir Soloviev’s philosophy. A critical examination of scholarly works that examine the motives behind Tarkovskii’s cinematic narrations reveals that some scholars tend to analyze his films through the lens of his emigration, with Nostalghia [Nostal’gija] (1983) serving as a particularly illustrative example. This interpretation suggests that there is an impression of the persecuted Soviet director, whose works were released under considerable pressure. This particular research, however, will not address the issues related to Tarkovskii’s emigration and political evaluation of his works. The research will instead focus on the interpretations of profound and difficult cinematic narrations through the prism of Solovievian philosophical concepts. At some point, the research will juxtapose The Passion According to Andrei [Strasti po Andreju] and Stalker to demonstrate the multifaceted nature of both Tarkovskii and Soloviev.