I had the privilege last summer to watch a 35MM screening of Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Nostalghia in theaters. I took someone with me who had never heard of the director or really knew what the film was about. I was thankful that they came but after 40 minutes into it they had fallen asleep.
I always forget about this unapologetic slowness within Tarkovsky’s work. It is a part of his charm but, apart from Nostalghia in theaters, I’ve never been able to watch any of his works in a single sitting. While watching Solaris me and my girlfriend had to poke each other to keep awake. I wonder if this slowness, while essential to his aesthetic, is the best choice. The intentional, almost emptiness of his narratives and sequences leave so much to be desired. The lack of music, slowly spoken dialogue, and the intentional decision to leave gaps within his narratives certainly creates a poetic dreamscape but as well leaves much to be desired. It’s a shame, honestly. Don’t get me wrong I love his works having seen most of them. I also believe that it is the viewer who loses the most out of this slowness and not the director.
I would love to be able to show others Tarkovsky’s. To be able to get a group of friends together, go to the theater, and watch his films so that they too can enjoy his masterpieces but I can’t really. They would just all fall asleep. Especially if it was Solaris.
Thomas' FORL 2220 Blog 
I certainly chuckled reading this. I can relate to your feelings on this. I too am ambivalent about this aspect of his work. It’s almost a paradox. It frustrates me and is indeed slow, but when I persevere through this restlessness, I feel as though it somehow ‘bonds me’ to the viewing experience more than a normal, easy film would. Perhaps there is some method to this madness where the irritating slowness, like a mantra meditation, makes you slip into a bit of a different energy wave length, a different mental state, which is conducive to deeper thinking and feeling? Just a hypothesis. In any case, I 100% agree with the dilemma that one cannot easily share Tarkovsky with others. But if you get the person or two to occasionally screen a Tarkovsky film with, and everyone is sufficiently awake and caffienated, it can be a very memorable screening experience. I still recall doing a couple screenings of his films to classes on campus late in the evening and everyone leaving feeling a bit like they were walking out into a dream.
PS. Watch his other sci fi work Stalker (when in the right mood) – I think it is better than Solaris
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