Wild Nostalgia

Nostalgia is one of the strongest emotions humans have. Our connection and longing for the past is something that can bridge any nation or culture, it is a vital part of the human experience. People people experience nostalgia over different things, for some it could be his childhood home, for others it could be the laugh of their first love, or it could even be as simple as a home cooked meal mom used to make. Being one of the most moving and emotional human phenomenon, many art forms have addressed this and handled it different ways. Two outstanding directors in particular handled this in different, but effective ways.

Soviet director Andrei Tarkovksey is considered to be a master at evoking emotion from the viewer. His sense of cinematography and direction strikes a chord in the heart. This was exemplified in his 1983 film Nostalghia. This film follows Andrei Gorchakov, a Russian writer researching an exiled Russian musician from the 1700's in Italy. During his research his becomes distraught and distant from his only companion, his translator. Andrei often experiences visions of his family he left behind at home, as well as Russian landscapes. He becomes an acquaintance of mentally ill man who through his past, makes Andrei reflect on his own.

When watching this film one must take in to account what was special about the production of it. Nostalghia was actually the first film Tarkovskey made after being exiled himself from Russia. Which adds merely another layer to the films already complex system of nostalgic overlays. This allows Tarkovskey to direct this film from his own emotion, which produces a beautiful account of the pain a man experiences when he longs for that he cannot have. In the film it is mentioned that the exiled Russian composer Andrei is researching, Pavel Sosnovskey, returned to Russia from Italy to go back to his life as a serf, because he could not bare the pain of being away from his fatherland. I believe this mirrors Tarkovskey's own attitude towards the USSR. He felt abandoned by his home, but returning meant he would allow himself to become a slave the USSR's strict film regulations. 

Where Tarkoskey's method was quite abstract throughout Nostalghia, director Ingmar Bergman took a more grounded approach in his 1957 film Wild Strawberries. It begins with a voice over by the main protagonist, Professor Isak Borg, who covers his distaste for many things, as well as his confessed distraught at the world. Following this we see his journey to a University across Sweden, along the way he accompanied by his daughter in-law, as well as a young couple and their friend. Throughout the trip, we begin to see glimpses of Borg's past, though he reminisces about them, we see that he was plauged by several misfortunes, producing the sour man he is today.

Bergman is helped out in this film by superb acting from Victor Sjorstrom, who plays Prof. Borg with flawless emotional mimicry. By allowing to see deeper and deeper into Borgs past throughout the movie provides us with keener understanding into why Borg is the way he is. However even in light of the bad things that have happened to him, we see that Borg still longs for the past, a part which I believe is telling the viewer that we must enjoy our experiences now, because they might be all the bit of happiness we have in our future.