Overview
A poignant journey through memory and dreams unfolds in the heart of Italy.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Glacial
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- dreamy
- austere
- solitary viewing
- late night reflection
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a visually ravishing, deeply contemplative meditation on exile, memory, and spiritual alienation, though its deliberate pace demands patience.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Andrei is a Russian poet living and working in Italy whose research becomes inseparable from his homesickness and alienation.
Andrei’s dreams intertwine his nostalgia with his growing identification with Domenico.
Domenico’s past actions and his extreme public act shape the film’s meditation on salvation, madness, and conviction.
The Italian town’s ancient spaces and atmospheric environments mirror the characters’ nostalgia and spiritual exhaustion.
Films like Nostalgia, and why
Mirror
shared contemplative pacing, metaphysical drama, dreamlike imagery, and themes of memory and spiritual crisis
The Sacrifice
shared austere visual poetry, existential themes, spiritual allegory, and slow cinema atmosphere
The Passenger
shared meditative drama, estrangement, European landscapes, and emotionally charged questions of belonging
Movie Details
- Director
- Andrei Tarkovsky
- Release Date
- 1983-05-01
- Runtime
- 124 min
- Rating
- 7.8 / 10 (628)
Cast
- Oleg Yankovskiy
- Erland Josephson
- Domiziana Giordano
- Patrizia Terreno
- Laura De Marchi
- Delia Boccardo
- Milena Vukotić
- Raffaele Di Mario
- Rate Furlan
- Livio Galassi
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Klassiki, Kino Film Collection
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Nostalgia about?
- A Russian poet in Italy finds his homesickness reflected in a troubled visionary whose spiritual extremity challenges the boundaries between compassion, madness, and faith.
- What is Nostalgia like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Nostalgia as glacial, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is Nostalgia violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Nostalgia as mild.
- What did critics think of Nostalgia?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a visually ravishing, deeply contemplative meditation on exile, memory, and spiritual alienation, though its deliberate pace demands patience.
- Which films are like Nostalgia?
- Films with a similar feel include Mirror, The Sacrifice, and The Passenger.
- How long is Nostalgia?
- Nostalgia runs 124 minutes.
- Where can I watch Nostalgia?
- In United States, Nostalgia streams on Klassiki, Kino Film Collection.
