1983, Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky
With Oleg Yankovskiy, Erland Josephson and Domiziana Giordano
125 min, 35 mm

Life imitated art during the creation of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Nostalghia. His first film to be made outside of the USSR, Nostalghia follows the story of a Russian poet Andrei Gorchakov (Yankovskiy) as he travels to Italy researching the life of an eighteenth-century composer. Once there, Gorchakov meets a lunatic who years earlier had imprisoned his own family in his house for seven years to save them from the evils of the world. For Gorchakov’s encounter unlocks feelings about his mother Russia, religion and his place in the world. Reflecting the relocation of the characters in the film, Tarkovsky remained in Italy until the end of his life after the Russian government withdrew funding of the film during production. Winner of both the Grand Prix and the International Federation of Film Critics Prize at Cannes, Nostalghia marks an important shift in the life and work of Tarkovsky as he reflects on life outside of the culture and country of one’s birth.