SCREENING FROM FRIDAY JULY 31st

After the head of the Soviet delegation actively (and successfully) campaigned against the awarding of Cannes’ Palme d’Or to Nostalgia, Tarkovsky resolved to stay in the West. The Sacrifice, also screening in a new 4K restoration, was to be his final film – Tarkovsky died shortly after completion from lung cancer. In a world facing imminent disaster, Alexander (Erland Josephson) vows to walk away from all that he loves if God will spare his family from this fate. A film that affirms the power of love, humanity, and faith, it makes for a fitting conclusion to a remarkable body of work.

Notes by Kevin Coyne