"The Sacrifice" (Language - Swedish/French/English) (1986) - Movie Review

A film which may not answer all of your questions might still be intriguing and also may be some of the sequences, life changing philosophies coming out of it. Yet some times the very same will be extremely abstract which might not supposedly deliver what it is out there, if there is something in it. “The Sacrifice” is the last film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and the first film I am seeing directed by him. In that sense, this might be a big leap off the blues, but still there are some perplexing and riddled puzzles unsolved at the end of this movie. But on the other hand, there might not be anything to be solved at all and it is all in the perception of each viewer. While it is something which can be said for any movie, in this film it is intentional and draws the lines fair and straight from the audience.

It takes extreme patience for any viewer to sit through the whole movie. But it is the curiosity which drives the factor of insanity with the abstraction embedded into it. One of the extremely technical applications in the film is the use of the camera and its operations in the most slow and definitive way. The initial sequence of the movie goes continuous for more than 6-7 minutes and it is hard to notice it explicitly but it is felt. I guess this is the reason; the movie is been praised and applauded by most of the critics and fans of Tarkovsky.

The film supposedly mentions about the end of the world by a war which most of them assume as “World War – III” while I would term it as any war. It happens on the Birthday of the protagonist, Alexander, a journalist and philosopher. The happenings of it are depicted by loud thundering shrieking sound of an airplane or a bomb which shakes the whole building. Phones go out and electricity goes out too. These are the indications of a war which is supposedly going to destroy the humanity. To arrive this point in the movie, it takes an hour or so. Even those are in a pace set with Alexander voicing his opinion on this life and his actions till this birthday to his son referred as “Little Man” who is recovering from a surgery which temporarily does not allow him to speak. What can be derived about the character of Alexander? Before answering this question, I have not thought about it and the following is the flow of my thinking about the movie. Alexander is a man who has seen and studied it all. He tries everything once and does not hesitate to give it up, if it does not make sense. He is a man of lot of words and suffers to make a point solid enough to penetrate the other party which is the reason why his relationship with his wife is not so tight. At the same time, he is a man of intense affections towards his son. His appeal of appreciation towards art is high. He is good in making friends within a short period of time as that of his Postman Otto. Having said all this, is it the feeling that the film has delivered what it had? But sadly no or at least for me it did not suffice enough.

But I can see where other directors like David Lynch and Michael Haneke get their inspirations from. The style of making is something stands out for me. This is a movie which is totally dependent on individual perception. I did not expect any kind of surprise ending or even an explanation of unknown actions by characters. What I was expecting the least is a small amount of experience of getting something very mystical yet riveting as per the content per se. Unfortunately I did not read it close enough. Maybe someday when I watch it after several years, maybe, just maybe I would be able to appreciate it for what everyone is saying. But right now, I am waiting for the next Tarkovsky movie to see and hope I can read it properly and understand the greatness of this legend.