"The Steamroller and the Violin" *** (out of ****)
It has been my agenda to try and review as many films as I can by all the great directors. But try as I may there are some great filmmakers I still have yet to review. The great Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky was one of those people.
Tarkovsky is one of my favorite filmmakers. But which film should I review? I gave a lot of thought to reviewing "The Sacrifice" (1986) and including it in my "Masterpiece Film Series". But I would have to break my own rules in order to do so. No film made after 1980 can be included. But "The Sacrifice" is not only my favorite Tarkovsky film it is also one of my all time favorite films. For that movie I'd be willing to break the rules. And one day I may include it. But I was still left with my original problem. Which movie should I review first?
Why I decided on "The Steamroller and the Violin" (1961) is beyond me. As I said, perhaps "The Sacrifice" would have been a better choice or "My Name Is Ivan" (1962) that will definitely be included in my series. Then there is what might be his most popular film "Solaris" (1972), seen as Russia's response to Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968). But here we are with "The Steamroller and the Violin".
"The Steamroller and the Violin" is not a bad film. It has some truly great emotional moments. This was a film Tarkovsky made as a student at the Soviet film school, VGIK. And even as a student we can see the seeds of greatness. His style is immediately recognizable. The long, static camera shots. The dreamlike quality. Dealing with childhood. The slow pace. As someone who has seen every film the great Tarkovsky has directed I can tell you these ideas will present themselves throughout his entire career.
But there was something a little more emotional to the film than I usually expect from the great master. The film follows a young boy, Sasha (Igor Fomchenko) who is studying the violin. But, because he is a child he has a very active imagination. He says he studies every day but he is easily distracted. When we first seen him he is running away from a group of bullies who pick on him because he plays the violin. And here Tarkovsky had me feeling such sympathy for the boy. Why are children, at times, so heartless and cruel? Where does this violent streak come from at such a young age?
But Sasha is saved by Sergei (Vladimir Zamansky). A city street worker who operates a steamroller. At first Tarkovsky really doesn't make their relationship clear and we may jump to the conclusion he is the boy's father. He is not but he is clearly a father figure, since we never see Sasha's real father.
The film from this point on is about the bond formed between these two opposites. But because the film was made during the time of Soviet communism. In 1961 Russia was still communist. I kept wondering if there was some political, propaganda being issued here. And then the idea of the worker (the steamroller) meets the intellect (the violin) popped into my mind. Was Tarkovsky trying to make a comment on this? One very telling scene has Sergei admiring Sasha's violin. He then ask Sasha if he will play for him. And so he does and we hear how beautiful the boy plays.
The film is only 45 minutes and doesn't really seem to go anywhere. I'm sure Tarkovsky is saying something but I'm not sure what. That is usually the problem I have watching his films. I admire his work greatly but I often feel he is so above me that I cannot always tell what it is Tarkovsky is really trying to tell me. I'm not smart enough to comprehend it all but he has such a style to his work that I'm always drawn in. Still we have to wonder what happens to these characters by the end of the film? Do they go on leading the same lives? Nothing felt properly resolved to me. I don't need a film to spell every single detail out to me and tie everything up with a little bow but after watching these characters for the time we do an investment grows and we try to fill in the blanks.
Watching "The Steamroller and the Violin" I kept thinking of a few other films. At the beginning of the film, when we are seeing the children, I thought of Albert Lamorisse's "The Red Balloon" (1956). That film had such a carefree tone to it showing us the wondrous joys of a child's adventure. At times "The Steamroller and the Violin" does something similar. I wonder if Tarkovsky saw that film before making this one.
Because of the age difference between the two characters Theo Angelopoulos' "Eternity and A Day" (1999) also came to mind. Sergei, I think, sees himself in Sasha. He sees great promise in him. Maybe he wishes, as a child, he would have been more like him.
So is this the best film to start watching Tarkovsky? Yes and no. Yes because it is his first work and if you watch his films in the order they were made you will see a certain progression to his work. A maturity. No because you may not find this to be his most interesting movie and as a result may not give his other films a chance. That would be a mistake. Another great filmmaker, Ingmar Bergman once said this about Tarkovsky; "Tarkovsky for me is the greatest, the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream". We can see hints of that in "The Steamroller and Violin" but I think Tarkovsky goes deeper with his next work "My Name Is Ivan". That is a masterpiece. "The Steamroller and the Violin" is a warm-up.
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