The Mystical Philosophy of Unity in the films of A. Tarkovsky

Abstract

Proceeding from Andrei Tarkovsky’s view of the world, this thesis begins by tracing the source of his thoughts that integrate Christian, Buddhist, pagan and mystical notions which sometimes seem incompatible. From individual human souls to problems at the global level, his films, which are associated with the theme of ‘salvation’, were generally viewed as films with Christian themes.
However, his films feature a Buddhist approach as well as pagan elements that are opposite to the Christian doctrine from the standpoint of traditional theology.
Therefore, it is essential to reexamine the sources of his thoughts and his view of the world, which have various religious characteristics. This thesis examines Tarkovsky’s works at various levels by analyzing his films in detail with reference to Eastern and Western religions and philosophy. In addition, the combination of his spiritual philosophy and his visual aesthetics together with the macroscopic frame that is also known as the allness from the Eastern and Western mystic philosophy will be reviewed.
Tarkovsky’s world view, which includes the oriental and western religions and ideas, demonstrates connections with various views of mystic and spiritual philosophers, including Rudolf Steiner and Georgii Gurdzhiev. He was also very interested in Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy known as “spiritual science”. The expression of Laozi’s “virtues” or Buddhist philosophy in his films is also a proof that he had made efforts to integrate Eastern philosophy with Western philosophy.
All his life Tarkovsky had strived to reach spiritual ascension by escaping from the material and physical world, returning to the One which was the cause of existence, and gazing toward the absolute world. Along this path Tarkovsky had come to believe that the gospel truth corresponds to goodness and beauty, and at this point, his aesthetics meets with his ethics.