Nostalghia was the final film screened in Teatro Guiniguada as part of the Tarkovsky cycle. This was the first time I watched it in a quarter of a century; it turned out that have forgotten quite a few things since then. For example, was Ностальгия dubbed or voiced-over when I saw it in Russia? Eugenia (Domiziana Giordano), for the most part of the movie, speaks Italian, but I distinctly remember her saying «Знаешь, кто такой зануда?» or «Говорит будто Фидель Кастро» in Russian. This time, in VOSE, I could at last hear her voice clearly.
For me, nostalgia is an inherently beautiful emotion. Tarkovsky’s own Solaris and especially Зеркало are full of it; Nostalghia, in spite of its name, is not [1]. In a way, Andrei Gorchakov (Oleg Yankovsky) is a stereotypical exponent of the “mysterious Russian soul”, who does not (want to, or try to) see anything good outside of the Motherland: «Надоели мне все ваши красоты хуже горькой редьки» (“I’m fed up with all your beauties”) he mutters in the beginning of the film. The only reason for him to be in Italy, apparently, is another Russian intellectual, the 18th-century composer Pavel Sosnovsky. When Eugenia asks if Sosnovsky was successful or happy at all upon returning to Russia, Gorchakov reluctantly explains that no, the composer started to drink (surprise surprise) and eventually committed suicide. Gorchakov himself is unable live here and now, in colour: his true life and his love must be in black and white, beyond the reach. Worse still, the final scene implies that a Russian simply cannot enter, say, an Italian cathedral without transplanting there his izba and a puddle (and making it all black and white).
But Yankovsky wouldn’t be Yankovsky if he just portrayed a grumpy, judgemental, misogynistic asshole [2]. Sure, his Gorchakov is all that, but he is also sensitive, lovable, and has sense of humour which, while does not save the poor writer, saves the film. The story of the rescuer and the rescued is priceless; also, it explains the puddle.
Горчаков: Есть одна история. Один человек спасает другого из огромной, глубокой лужи, понимаешь? Спасает с риском для собственной жизни. Ну, вот они лежат у края этой глубокой лужи, тяжело дышат, устали. Наконец, спасённый спрашивает:
— Ты что?..
— Как что? Я тебя спас.
— Дурак! Я там живу!..
«Я там живу.» Обиделся очень.
Gorchakov: Here’s a story. A man saves another from a huge, deep puddle, you understand? Saves him, risking his own life. Well, they are both lying on the edge of this deep puddle, breathing heavily, tired. Finally, the rescued man asks: “Why did you do that?..”__________________________________________________
“Why what? I just saved you.”
“You idiot! I live there!..”
“I live there.” He took great offense.
- What it has is not nostalgia but тоска, a concept so awfully sad that Finns had to import it, as tuska, together with quite a few other depressing Russian words.
- Anatoly Solonitsyn, who was originally cast in the lead role, already played a similar character in Сталкер.
No comments:
Post a Comment