By far the most important post-war Russian director,Andrei Tarkovsky was proclaimed by Ingmar Bergman, 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 .With its ambitious scope,astounding set-pieces,magisterial pacing and glorious colour finale, this towering episodic account of the life of the medieval icon painter (replete with witches,pagan rituals,and sacking of monasteries by Tatar hordes) is the most convincing portrait of the period, justifiably the Vatican's #1 recommended film, and one of the most awesome artistic achievements of the 20th Century!