Andrey Tarkovsky. A Cinema Prayer

Andrey A. Tarkovsky's 2019 documentary tells the life and work of his father, Andrei Tarkovsky, entirely in the director's own voice. The film is built from previously unreleased audio recordings found in the archive; Tarkovsky's childhood, his understanding of art, his reflections on the fate of the artist and on the meaning of human existence come from his own account. The images come mainly from his films and the family archive, and the son's choice is to match his father's words to his father's pictures. That approach is both the film's strength and its limit: there is no critical distance and the objections raised against Tarkovsky never enter. The years of exile and his conflict with the Soviet film institutions are covered, while the complications within the family are left outside. Who it's for: viewers who know Tarkovsky's films and are interested in his thinking about art. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a critical portrait, or who has not seen the films and will miss the references.