Andrei Tarkovsky’s Typical Vibe
Signature vibe

Highest-ranked title
Highest-ranked title
Andrei Tarkovsky has 9 titles in the CriticCrunch catalog across a career spanning the 1950s through the 1980s. 1 sits in the Top 1% of all titles we track — including Stalker.
Recurring themes

Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A stalker guides two men into the Zone, specifically to an area in which deep-seated desires are granted.
Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky · With Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn

A dying man in his forties recalls his childhood, his mother, the war and personal moments that tell of and juxtapose pivotal moments in Soviet history with daily life.
Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky · With Margarita Terekhova, Ignat Daniltsev, Larisa Tarkovskaya

An expansive Russian drama, this film focuses on the life of revered religious icon painter Andrei Rublev. Drifting from place to place in a tumultuous era, the peace-seeking monk eventually gains a reputation for his art. But after Rublev witnesses a brutal battle and unintentionally becomes involved, he takes a vow of silence and spends time away from his work. As he begins to ease his troubled soul, he takes steps towards becoming a painter once again.
Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky · With Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Ivan Lapikov, Mykola Hrynko

A psychologist is sent to a space station orbiting a planet called Solaris to investigate the death of a doctor and the mental problems of cosmonauts on the station. He soon discovers that the water on the planet is a type of brain which brings out repressed memories and obsessions.
Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky · With Natalya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Jüri Järvet

In WW2, twelve year old Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev works for the Soviet army as a scout behind the German lines and strikes a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers.
Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky · With Nikolay Burlyaev, Valentin Zubkov, Yevgeni Zharikov

Russian poet Andrei Gorchakov journeys through Italy with his interpreter Eugenia to research the life of an 18th-century Russian composer who once lived abroad. Isolated and consumed by an unrelenting longing for his homeland, Andrei becomes drawn to Domenico, a radical mystic obsessed with spiritual redemption. Through austere imagery and extended temporal rhythms, Tarkovsky examines exile, memory, and the profound melancholy of being unable to belong fully to either place or language.
Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky · With Oleg Yankovskiy, Erland Josephson, Domiziana Giordano

Alexander, a journalist, philosopher and retired actor, celebrates a birthday with friends and family when it is announced that nuclear war has begun.
Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky · With Erland Josephson, Susan Fleetwood, Allan Edwall

Seven year old Sasha practices violin every day to satisfy the ambition of his parents. Already withdrawn as a result of his routines, Sasha quickly regains confidence when he accidentally meets and befriends worker Sergei, who works on a steamroller in their upscale Moscow neighborhood.
Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky · With Igor Fomchenko, Vladimir Zamanskiy, Marina Adzhubei
The Killers is a 1956 student film by the Soviet and Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky and his fellow students Marika Beiku and Aleksandr Gordon. The film is based on the short story "The Killers" by Ernest Hemingway, written in 1927. It was Tarkovsky's first film, produced when he was a student at the State Institute of Cinematography.
Dir. Marika Beiku, Andrei Tarkovsky, Aleksandr Gordon · With Yuliy Fayt, Aleksandr Gordon, Valentin Vinogradov