"Andrei Rublev" can be said to be the most difficult movie for the world except for "Stalker". In the final analysis, I think the incomprehensibility is related to religion and culture. Russia’s thousand-year-old Orthodox culture has been subtly submerged into the depths of this land. Through the perspective of Orthodox Church, many metaphors (even "hidden") in the film are actually extremely obvious, and the storytelling of the film is also very smooth. For Chinese people who are culturally separated from them, they are often confused and at a loss. . The influence of Russian culture in the country has gradually diminished, and the research involving the Orthodox Church is even more narrow. The above-mentioned homework is difficult to do. The following article is a paper I wrote during my university period. I hope it can be helpful to those who are interested in tower movies.
Redemption: The religious interpretation of "Andrei Rublev"
I think Tarkovsky is the greatest. It creates a brand-new movie language, capturing life like a mirror, like a dream.
--- Ingmar Bergman
1. Introduction
Andrei Arsenevich Tarkovsky was the most prestigious film director and producer in the Soviet era. During his lifetime, he only shot 7 feature films and two short films, but all of them are classics. He has won many international film festival awards such as Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival.
Tarkovsky was born on April 4, 1932 in a family of intellectuals in the town of Zavrosi on the Volga River in Russia. Both his parents graduated from the Moscow Academy of Letters. Mother Maria Ivanovna Vishnikova is an excellent actor who has appeared in Tarkovsky's films many times. Father Arseny Alexanderovich Tarkovsky is also a well-known poet and translator. His poems are frequently quoted in Tarkovsky's films. Although in the Soviet Union at that time, under the influence of ideology, religious belief was considered out of date and even forbidden, but Tarkovsky's parents believed in the Orthodox Church. Under the influence of his parents, Tarkovsky, who has been immersed in a strong literary, artistic and traditional religious atmosphere since childhood, has also become a firm believer in Orthodox Church. "The Gospel" and "The Biography of Saints" are necessary books for his desk. He often excerpts large sections in his diary. And in his own discussion of religious issues that he understands for a long time. Throughout his life, Tarkovsky has always adhered to the conscience of intellectuals and the humanitarian traditions of the Orthodox Church. Following the footsteps of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and other ancestors, Tarkovsky remained alone in art and life. The road, thinking hard about how to use religion to achieve moral perfection, in order to save self, save the suffering Russia, save the entire mankind. It can be said that it is on the basis of the Russian Orthodox Church that Tarkovsky constructed his own moral and ethical system, and draws a steady stream of inspiration and strength from the fertile soil of the Orthodox moral ideals. He uses his film works to explore religion, torture human nature, and discuss eternal human life issues such as life and death, good and evil, man and God.
"Andrei Rublev", which was filmed in 1967, is Tarkovsky’s second feature feature film. It records the great and talented icon painter Andre of ancient Rus in the Middle Ages with epic magnificent pen and ink. The life course of Lie Rublev. The film has won many international film festival awards including the 69th Cannes Film Festival International Film Critics Awards, and is considered one of Tarkovsky's most outstanding works. In the film, by shaping the image of Andrei Rublev, Tarkovsky not only fully expressed his artistic ideals, but also expounded his religious views to a large extent.
There is no clear record in historical data about the life of the protagonist Andrei Rublev. Only know that he was born around 1360. His real name is unknown. Andrei Rublev was the given name of his baptism as a monk when he was an adult. Andrei Rublev lived in the late period of Mongol Tatar rule over Russia (Период Золотой Орды татаро-монголов). At that time, after hundreds of years of enslavement and captivity by the Tatars, the land of Ross was devastated, and the people did not live; and the interior of Ross was also divided by the princes, and the civil war was endless. Andrei Rublev was trained in the St. Sergius Radonezhsky Monastery (Троица-Сергиевый монастырь) on the outskirts of Moscow. This monastery is still regarded as a holy place by the majority of Russian Orthodox Christians because of the most respected religious leader Saint Sergi Radonezhsky [Saint Sergi Radonezhsky (Се́ргий Ра́донежский): All of Russia Saint, the founder of the Holy Trinity Monastery on the outskirts of Moscow, is one of the most outstanding historical and religious figures in Russia in the 14th century, and is revered as the greatest ascetic on the land of Russia and the patron of the Russian people in heaven] . Under the protection and admonition of St. Sergius Radonezhsky, Andrei Rublev accepted the Christian philanthropy and the idea of national unity, and incorporated it into his future paintings. Thus injecting a new spiritual core into the traditional icon painting (Икона) art. One of the most famous is the icon painting "Trinity (Троицa)" painted in the Holy Trinity Church. Andrei Rublev reflected the desire of the people at that time with his brilliant and extraordinary artistic expression---to end disputes, establish a unified country on the land of Russia, and realize the harmony of the whole world. The Moscow School of Painting led by Andrei Rublev as the representative of the Russian religious painting art gradually got rid of the Byzantine model, formed an iconic painting style with Russian localized characteristics, and achieved remarkable artistic achievements. At the Hundred Religious Conferences held in 1551, Andrey Rublev’s iconography was set as a model. Since the 17th century, Andrei Rublev has been worshipped as a saint locally. In 1988, the Russian Orthodox Church officially declared him a saint.
However, the film is far from being a historical story or a biographical film as its title implies. The creation time span of "Andrei Rublev" is relatively large. It is composed of 9 separate and interrelated parts: "Prologue (Пролог)", "Wandering Artist (Скоморох)", "Feofan Glek (Феофан Грек)", "Andre's Passion ( Страсти по Андрею, "Festivals (Праздник)", "Doomsday Judgment (Страшный суд)", "Invasion (Набег)", "Silence (Молчание)" and "Clock (Колокол)". Andrei Rublev did not appear in every scene. However, Tarkovsky once commented on this issue in his "Sculpture Time": "Even if he does not appear, the play still exudes his spirit, and we can still smell him and the world around him. An interactive atmosphere." These short dramas with different plots and different themes strung together Andrei Rublev's life journey. As mentioned in the previous article, the film not only expresses the director’s artistic ideals, but also “shows people the mental state and social emotions of the artist when creating spiritual treasures of eternal significance”. More importantly, it focuses on presenting peace. Drey Rublev's religious journey of realizing self-salvation and spiritual salvation. From a certain perspective, Andrei Rublev’s life has a strong biography of the saints [圣徒传 (Жития святых): refers to church activists, state activists, and martyrs who are honored as saints by the Christian Church The life of an ascetic. Later it extends to the saint-specific subject literature derived from the saint phenomenon. ]color.
2. Andrei's Journey
The film begins with a prologue rich in symbolic metaphors. A dirty farmer made a huge hot air balloon out of animal skins, rope and rags. He climbed to the top of the church tower, jumped off, and passed the 14th-century town of Ross: passing churches, wooden houses, rivers, fields, and then suddenly fell to his death. In terms of plot, this scene is independent of the whole story of Andrei Rublev. As for the description of this incident, the director's performance techniques are also very obscure, and it does not seem to give any clear clues related to the theme of the film. However, the director used the gloomy picture and repressive music to render the film the strong ignorance and asceticism that was shrouded in the medieval Ross land at that time, laying a heavy and tragic tone for the film. As Tarkovsky himself said: "Only a thorough description of the artist's era can express his true moral ideals." Through the eyes of the farmer, we can get a glimpse of Rublev's " The real world born of the Trinity. What unfolds before us is a vivid picture of life on the land of Ross in the 14th century. And all this makes the viewer feel real. In such an era of asceticism and trans-individualism, in such a restrictive creative environment, Andrei Rublev’s religious piety and universal love Perseverance, keen perception and creativity of art is amazing.
In the film, Andrei Rublev's journey begins in the chapter "The Wandering Artist (Скоморох)". In 1400 Andrei Rublev left the monastery together with his companions Kirill and Danila and began his professional career as a formal icon painter. From the conversation between the three, they have spent nearly ten years in the monastery. It is conceivable that in the past ten years of his career as a monk, Andrei Rublev trained in the Holy Trinity Monastery and St. Serkis Monastery, and was protected and enlightened by St. Sergei Radonezhsky. , Almost lived a life in isolation. In such a turbulent age, Rose suffered a lot: 100 years of ravaged and trampled by the Tatars have devastated Rose, and the struggle for power, brothers clashed on the wall, and the endless civil war made Rose’s suffering cast a more tragic color. . "Through the enlightenment of reality and personal political awakening, Sergei Radonezhsky's motto expresses the desire for unity and solidarity among the people." Under the influence of such an influential Orthodox spiritual leader at the time , The young Andrei Rublev naturally, even subconsciously, accepted Sergei Radonezhsky’s religious view---the universal spirit of universal love in Christianity, and this Convinced. However, as Tarkovsky quoted in his film review collection "The Time of Sculpture (Запечатленное время)": "Truth must be experienced first-hand and cannot be taught. Prepare for war."
Once you leave. In the monastery, Andrei Rublev quickly revealed how inadequate he was to meet the cruel reality challenges. The real world he encountered seemed "unfamiliar, unpredictable, and thrilling." It can be said that the cruelty in real life is far beyond what he can understand in the monastery where there is no cannibalism.
So, one after another, he observed the cruel reality from his life.
In order to avoid the sudden heavy rain, Andrei Rublev came to a farmer's shed to hide from the rain, and met the wandering entertainers who performed for the farmers. In Ancient Rus, the identity of the wandering artist is extremely low. They are folk artists of Ancient Rus, but in the medieval Rus, where religious hierarchy is strict and asceticism prevails, all kinds of folk entertainment activities are strictly forbidden, and they believe that these are behaviors driven by the "devil". From Kirill’s contemptuous and indifferent ridicule of wandering artists, we can also get a glimpse: “God created monks, and devil created wandering artists.” However, facing the wandering artists, Andre’s eyes were peaceful and friendly. of. He smiled and looked at the back of the wandering artist, even with a little curiosity. Andre, who deeply believes in the spirit of Christian fraternity, does not know that he discriminates against anyone. However, Kirill quietly reported to the government that vagrant artists were performing here. As a result, the rain did not stop, and the wandering artist was quickly taken away by officials. After witnessing a chaos, it rained and the weather cleared, and the three of Andrei went on the road again.
In "Feofan Grek [Feofan Grek Феофа́н Грек (c. 1340-c. 1410)"-Byzantine icon painter, in the 14th century, invited by the Russian nobles to paint in Novgorod . His creations in Russia had a certain impact on the development of Russian religious paintings in the 14th to 15th centuries. ]" In the first half of the chapter, Andrei Rublev did not appear head-on. However, we have seen the evaluation of him by two icon painters of the same time. Everyone praised Andrei Rublev’s talent for painting. Even the predecessor of Rose's greatest icon painter at the time, Feofan Glek, knew his name. Knowing that he will become a true master. However, Kirill sneered at this: "He is still far behind... His colors are delicate, gentle, and good at portraying. But there is no fear in all this! No faith! Belief from the heart." For An Kirill is correct in Dre’s “lack of fear” comment. There will be a detailed analysis and elaboration on this point in the following paragraphs. What also needs our special attention at this moment is that from the dialogue between the two, it can be seen that, in fact, the icon paintings drawn by Andrei Rublev did not conform to the traditional mainstream at that time. As a forerunner of the times, with his sensitivity to art and a deep understanding of Christianity, Rublev has incorporated his feelings into icon paintings, created his own artistic language, and at the same time expressed his own religious ideas and worldview. . Just for Andre, who is immersed in his own painting world For Rublev, the sense of alienation that is not understood by people has not yet been perceived. But Andre's later art path was destined to be lonely and difficult. However, Feofan did not invite him to Moscow as his assistant, as he had promised Kirill, to complete the creation of the iconostasis of the Church of the Annunciation. Instead, he invited Andrei Rublev. Andrei Rublev readily agreed. And invited Danila as an assistant to go to Moscow with him. However, what Andre did not expect was that his beloved brother Danila did not agree to his request. This result obviously made him at a loss. The once pure brotherhood has appeared unrecoverable rifts and rifts. And Feofan Glek's decision made Kirill a huge psychological gap. Kirill, who was burning with jealousy, finally chose to leave the monastery and return to vulgarity. Before leaving, he yelled at him, exposing the lies, hypocrisy and depravity in the church. All this obviously made Andre's heart received a huge shock. Kirill is wise and sober, but only lacks the virtues of tameness and humility, so he can let the evil thoughts of jealousy come in, and let evil blind the soul. In the play, Feofan Glek cursed the executioner: "He has committed many crimes, but he wants to judge the crimes of others." In fact, it is precisely the verdict of Kirill.
"Andre's Passion" can be described as the highlight of the whole movie, and it has a pivotal position. Because it was in this chapter that Andrei Rublev gave a complete and comprehensive explanation of the world view and religious view he understood for the first time. In the debate with the predecessor Feofan Glek, we saw that the two thoughts are quite different. And their fundamental contradiction in the worldview is also reflected in the huge difference in their painting styles. It is said that the savior painted by Feofan was full of anger, and people who passed by the church looked at the face of the savior and often got goose bumps on his body.