14 August 2026

On Wednesday, we saw a screening of one of the world’s most celebrated films, ‘Andrei Rublev’. It was directed by the Russian, Andrei Tarkovsky. He made seven films in his lifetime and they are all rated very highly. He was one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema.

This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the film hence the showing at the DCA in Dundee. It was long – three hours. It is loosely based on the life of Russia’s most famous icon-writer, Andrei Rublev, an Orthodox Christian and a monk.

At the time of its production, Russia was an intensely atheist state and had laws governing what was permissible in the cinema. Tarkovsky’s film was heavily censored because of its Christian content. When it was shown in Cannes it won an award and in America it was shortened for commercial reasons.

There are two graphic moments. The first is the attack of the Tartars. Their brutality is vividly portrayed especially when they break down the door of the cathedral and kill the villagers who had hidden there for their protection. Fearing a woman was going to be raped, Rublev kills her assailant with an axe.

He takes a vow of silence and refuses to paint anymore. He meets a bell-maker and witnesses the creation of his bell. When  it rings, he sees the joy which it brings and realises that he should use his art to bring joy to others. Breaking his vow of silence, he encourages the bell-maker, ‘You’ll cast bells. I’ll paint icons.’

The second is the conclusion of the film. It is monochrome right up until the last five minutes. Suddenly it breaks into colour as we see a collection of Rublev’s beautiful icons most famously ‘The Trinity’ and ‘The Redeemer’. How did he manage to create such beauty in the midst of such barbarity?

‘Films in colour are like moving paintings or photographs which are too beautiful to be a realistic depiction of life.’ said Tarkovsky. After almost three hours of black and white, the colour made an explosive impact, the perfect foil for  Rublev’s art and Tarkovsky's, whose gravestone bears the legend, ‘To the man who saw the Angel.’