Tarkovsky had a significant influence on the style of modern European cinema, especially in the area of ​​“slow cinema”. His films are often interpreted, quoted, and searched for mystical prophecies about Chernobyl, the collapse of the USSR, or the impending apocalypse. Researcher Robert Bird offers a new perspective on the director’s work: in his opinion, Tarkovsky never set himself the task of imposing his own views on reality. On the contrary, his creative approach was designed to capture reality with all its unpredictability and limitless possibilities. In his works, Tarkovsky did not orate - he looked closely and listened to the world, to its elements - and to the elements of cinema as a special way of knowing and expressing.

The book “Andrei Tarkovsky: The Elements of Cinema” was first published in 2007 in English. For the Russian-language edition, it was re-edited and supplemented. The translation was done by the author.