At the time of reviewing this I have not seen Ivan's Childhood or Andrei Rublev, but I have seen all of Tarkovsky's other films.
The issue I have always had with Tarkovsky was the inability to have truly engaging characters who I was invested in. The cinematography and "art" qualities to his films has always been great (even if sometimes pretentious), but I can never really enjoy the people on screen. All of the characters tend to spout philosophical debates out of left field and it never feels natural.
However, The Steamroller and the Violin tells a coherent narrative with characters who are interesting, have some depth, and are enjoyable to see on screen while the cinematography is never too crazy or unconventional like later films by the director. This also makes The Steamroller and the Violin the most mainstream of the Tarkovsky films I've seen, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
While watching this I genuinely cared about the characters their relationship as new friends. The unfortunate aspect of this film is that it is only 40 minutes long and the ending feels a little bit rushed. This could've easily have been 70 minutes long or longer based on the good on-screen chemistry. The ending is very abrupt and a little unsatisfying, but I enjoyed everything else in it.
Definitely worth a watch and I find it a little depressing that the most enjoyable Tarkovsky film I have watched is also his earliest one. I'm all for art films and experimenting with film language, but don't do it at the expense of the characters and the narrative.
The issue I have always had with Tarkovsky was the inability to have truly engaging characters who I was invested in. The cinematography and "art" qualities to his films has always been great (even if sometimes pretentious), but I can never really enjoy the people on screen. All of the characters tend to spout philosophical debates out of left field and it never feels natural.
However, The Steamroller and the Violin tells a coherent narrative with characters who are interesting, have some depth, and are enjoyable to see on screen while the cinematography is never too crazy or unconventional like later films by the director. This also makes The Steamroller and the Violin the most mainstream of the Tarkovsky films I've seen, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
While watching this I genuinely cared about the characters their relationship as new friends. The unfortunate aspect of this film is that it is only 40 minutes long and the ending feels a little bit rushed. This could've easily have been 70 minutes long or longer based on the good on-screen chemistry. The ending is very abrupt and a little unsatisfying, but I enjoyed everything else in it.
Definitely worth a watch and I find it a little depressing that the most enjoyable Tarkovsky film I have watched is also his earliest one. I'm all for art films and experimenting with film language, but don't do it at the expense of the characters and the narrative.