Moscow Elegy - Alexander Sokurov

Alternative title: Moskovskaya Elegiya
Synopsis: Originally intended to mark the 50th birthday of Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky. However, disagreements within the Soviet Professional Union of Cinematographers about the style and content of the film forced production to be suspended and the film was only completed after Tarkovsky’s death. The film is a subjective portrait of the legendary Tarkovsky whose shadow looms large over Russian cinema, despite his exile to Western Europe at the end of his life. Sokurov, who shot the film while working at Leningrad State Documentary Productions (LSDF), focuses on Tarkovsky’s absence from the then-Soviet Union and meditates on what he left behind. Using thematically representative scenes from Tarkovsky’s films, juxtaposed against political events in the Soviet Union, Sokurov captures the great director’s struggle between personal expression and state-supported suppression. The film also includes footage from Tarkovsky’s funeral.

DVD extras include: DVD-ROM section with editor’s notes, biography and filmography.
Language: English
Country: Russian Federation
Year of release: 2007
Year of production: 1988
Subjects: Film Studies
Keywords: cinema - Russia; film directors; Soviet Union; political issues; Tarkovsky, Andrei (1932-1986)

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