Tarkovsky’s Medieval Masterpiece Returns to the Big Screen

Tomorrow, New York City’s Film Society of Lincoln Center will unveil a new restoration of Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1966 Andrei Rublev, as the Russian master’s second feature kicks off a nationwide theatrical run, courtesy of Janus Films. A haunting and tactile portrait of Russia’s most widely revered icon painter, the film unfolds over the course of several indirectly linked episodes, in many of which Rublev himself seems to be a peripheral figure. What emerges is a sustained reflection on the subjects of faith, art, and forbearance in the often cruel environs of early-fifteenth-century Russia. In our liner essay for Andrei Rublev—which will be included in the new Criterion edition of the restored masterwork, hitting shelves next month—critic J. Hoberman celebrates Tarkovsky’s singular style, citing his “long, sinuous takes” as well as the raw, earthen poetry of his eventually state-suppressed film. “Undirectable creatures animate Tarkovsky’s compositions—a cat bounds across a corpse-strewn church, wild geese flutter over a ravaged city,” Hoberman writes. “The birch woods are alive with water snakes and crawling ants, the forest floor yields a decomposing swan.”

Watch the new trailer for the film above, then head to the Film Society’s website to check for showtimes.