Andrei Tarkovsky: The Elements of Cinema

The author offers a new approach to the analysis of Andrei Tarkovsky's artistic decisions. Tarkovsky significantly influenced the style of contemporary European cinema, particularly in terms of "slow cinema." His films are often interpreted, cited, and searched for mystical prophecies... about Chernobyl, the collapse of the USSR, or the impending apocalypse.
Researcher Robert Bird offers a new perspective on the director's work: in his opinion, Tarkovsky never aimed to impose his views on reality.
On the contrary, his creative setup was aimed at capturing reality along with its unpredictability and infinite possibilities.
In his works, Tarkovsky did not preach — he observed and listened to the world, to its elements — and to the elements of cinema as a special way of cognition and expression. The book "Andrei Tarkovsky: The Elements of Cinema" was first published in 2007 in English. For the Russian-language edition, it has been re-edited and supplemented. The translation was done by the author.