Comparative Study between Heidegger’s Thought and Tarkovsky’s Cinema

Seyed Mehdi Mousavinejad¹, Mohammad Raayat Jahromi²,

¹M.A. in Philosophy, Imam Khomeini International University, Iran, E-mail: m.mousavinejad@edu.ikiu.ac.ir

²Assistant Professor in Philosophy, Imam Khomeini International University, Iran, E-mail: raayatjahromi@hum.ikiu.ac.ir

Abstract

The relation between art, especially cinema, with philosophy, on one hand, and a philosopher with an artist’s thinker are the main subject of this paper. Martin Heidegger and Andrey Tarkovsky (1932-1986) are one of these philosophers and filmmakers. Accordingly, “philosophical film” separated from “film as philosophy”. Andrey Tarkovsky, Russian filmmaker, brings up in his works some issues such as time, death and care which are very important in the context of existential philosophy. Then, his works and thought included “film as philosophy”. In Heidegger’s thought, dosein is “being in the world”. He distinguishes between fallen and original dosein and emphasizes on dosein’s possibilities which the end of them is death. In order to indicate the relationship between what Tarkovsky, as a cinematic theorist, expresses in his films with the cinematic expression, and Heidegger’s philosophy, cinematic theories such as realism, formalism and phenomenological theories are very important. We discuss about them and basic properties of Tarkovsky’s films and fundamental issues of Heidegger’s philosophy. Finally, this paper intends to find and pursue some issues like “death”, “time” and “care”, in Heidegger’s thought and Tarkovsky’s films: “The Mirror”, “Stalker”, “Nostalghia” and “Sacrifice”.

Key word: Tarkovsky, Heidegger, death, time, care

1. Introductıon

This paper intends to pursue these basic and secondary issues: The relation between art, especially cinema or artist’s thinker, with philosophy, “philosophical film” and “film as philosophy and basic properties of Tarkovsky’s films like “The Mirror”, “Stalker”, “Nostalghia” and “Sacrifice” and fundamental issues of Heidegger’s philosophy. Therefore, the main question is the relationship between what Tarkovsky, as a cinematic theorist, expresses in his movies and thought especially about death, freedom, time and care with the cinematic expression, and Heidegger’s philosophy. Also, this paper discusses about cinematic theories such as realism, formalism and phenomenological theories which are very important about representation of thought in cinema and the relation between cinematic indications and philosophy.

2. Method

The method of this paper is texts collection in library method and examines them on the basis of comparative or critical approach. Accordingly, this paper, intends to indicate the relationship between what Tarkovsky, as a cinematic theorist, expresses in his films with the cinematic expression, and Heidegger’s philosophy. Also, this paper, as the innovation, emphasizes on the separation of philosophical film” and “film as philosophy”.   

3. Finding

Human condition in the world and his essence are main subjects in Heidegger’s thought and Tarkovsky’s cinema. The convergence of art and philosophy and specially cinema and philosophy which in this paper named “film as philosophy” is very important. Heidegger and Tarkovsky discussed issues such as death, time and care, in order to connect between the language of cinema and philosophy. Finally, it seems that on the basis of human and his relations to world, realistic approach in cinema ,and specially Tarkovsky’s films, and Heidegger’s thought, especially in “Being and time” are comparable.      

4. Conclusion and Suggestions

Tarkovsky is not a philosopher (in its particular sense), but he entitled as an "Unprofessional Philosophers". Writers like Kafka, Dostoevsky, Beckett and Camus, and filmmakers such as Bergman, Tarkovsky, and Kurosawa have spoken about their "philosophy" in different ways. In the context of Tarkovsky’s films this approach named “film as philosophy”. Tarkovsky, in “The Mirror”, “Stalker”, “Nostalghia” and “Sacrifice” employs the language of art and specially film, in order to indicate philosophical issues like “death”, “time” and “care”. These are main subjects in Heidegger’s thought. However, in recent years, beside realistic approach, phenomenological theories have been proposed. Certainly, in future, these main subjects like "Unprofessional Philosophers", and “film as philosophy”, as interdisciplinary subjects, will expand.   

5. References

-  Eisenstein, Sergei (1949), Film Form: Essays in Film Theory,; translated by Jay Leyda, New York: a Harvest/ HBJ Book, New York and London

- Deleuze, Gilles (1989), “Cinema2 – The Time-Image”, translated by Hugh Tomlinson and Robert Galeta, University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis

- Richardson W. (1963), Heidegger: Through Phenomenology to Thought, Springer

- Tarkovsky, Andrey (1989), sculpting in Time, translated from the Russian by Kitty Hunter – Blair, University of Texas Press

- Balaz, Bela, (1988) Theory of The Film, translated from the Hungarian by Edith Bone, London, Dennis Dobson LTD

- Casebier, Allan, (1991) Film and Phenomenology: Towards a Realist Theory of Cinematic Representation, Cambridge University Press

- Dreyfus, Hubert L., (2005) A Companion to Heidegger, Edited by Hubert L., Deryfus and Mark, A., Wrathall, Blackwell publishing Ltd

- Gorner, Paul, (2007) Heidegger’s Being and Time, an introduction, Cambridge University press

- Kracauer, Siegfried, (1960) Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical Reality, Oxford University Press, New York

- Munsterberg, Hugo, (2002) The Photoplay: a psychological study and other writings, edited by Allan Langdale, Routledge, New York

- Shklovskii, Viktor Borisovich, (2008) Literature and Cinematography, Dalkey Archive Press

- Tarkovsky, Andrey, (1989) Time within Time: The Diaries 1970 – 1986, faber and faber, London Boston