The birds flying from the Virgin's womb
Many architects are fans of Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky, because of the lighting, the water and surrealism in his movies, regardless the plot. A favorite one is Stalker, though I liked Nostalghia best, which seems to be his most personal movie, about his feelings at his exile in Italy.
For those who want to read more about the film, here's an interesting review in Slant Magazine, and I have to warn you, the author confuses the name "Gorchakov" with "Gorbachov" in the last paragraphs, there's nothing to do with the former president:
The images here are screen shots from my computer.
The beautiful chiaroscuro
The mirrors
The abandoned
The indoor water reflexes, the interiors
From an architectural point of view, what I enjoy most, is the intertwined spaces, the interior and exterior, the buildings have no roof, and when they have it, the rain pours down leaving the floor as a lagoon, the vines grow inside/outside and we have a few hints of where the characters are, as they are -sometimes- shown against the bright exterior light.
The indoor water reflexes, the interiors
The indoor water reflexes, the interiors. Tarkovsky barely uses color in this movie.
The free standing door is opened to go through "one space to the other" or "one room to the other".
The picture above shows exactly this confusion of spaces. The door has only its frame, but there is no division between rooms, it's a big space that could be virtually divided by columns and some furniture. But see, the lunatic is using the door to pass through, curiously, there's no water behind the door, but a basin that is part of the group of basins that are meant to keep the rain water, of course, an impossible task.
The beautiful streets in Italy, the old, the decayed.
The young girl amidst the old and the decayed. The vines grow outside/inside
The lonely streets
The wardrobe, a displaced element in the street where Gorchakov sees himself in the reflex of the lunatic.
The church without roof. Always this idea of interior-exterior
People in the public building's staircase, like floating in the air. It reminds me of Rene Magritte's painting, "Golconda."
Gorchakov's house in Russia is superimposed to the open church in Italy. The mixed feelings of the exile, the memories, that include the dog. The reflex of the Gothic windows on the water, as an impossible effect, given they are so far.
The adoration of the Virgin who gives " pregnancy."