Andrei Tarkovsky's Films: Where to Start and What Order to Watch Them

Andrei Tarkovsky is a director whose name has become almost synonymous with "difficult cinema": slow editing, minimal dialogue, long takes where seemingly nothing happens. That reputation is exactly why so many people are afraid to start. Over his career, Tarkovsky made only 7 feature films — and 6 of them are already in Kinogram's catalog. Unlike a franchise such as Batman, Tarkovsky's films aren't connected by plot, so instead of a strict viewing order, here's where it makes sense to begin.

Ivan's Childhood (1962). Tarkovsky's feature debut — and probably the best entry point. Twelve-year-old Ivan works as a scout behind German lines during World War II. The storytelling is still fairly conventional, but Tarkovsky's signature style is already visible — dreams, water, childhood as a lost paradise. Won the Golden Lion at Venice.

Andrei Rublev (1966). An epic biography of a 15th-century icon painter, told across eight episodes — brutal, beautiful, and shot almost like a documentary. Soviet censors shelved it for years. Only start here right after Ivan's Childhood if you're ready for a nearly three-hour runtime.

Solaris (1972). Tarkovsky's most approachable later film, and the best alternative if space appeals to you more than medieval Russia: a psychologist travels to a station orbiting a planet whose ocean materializes images from the crew's memories. Adapted from Stanislaw Lem's novel — though Tarkovsky and Lem famously disagreed about what the book actually meant.

Mirror (1975). Tarkovsky's most personal and least plot-driven film — fragments of memory, dream, and newsreel woven together without a clear chronology. Not the best starting point: even longtime fans often say Mirror only "clicks" after a few rewatches.

Stalker (1979). Possibly Tarkovsky's best-known film in the West — a guide leads two companions into a mysterious Zone rumored to contain a room that grants wishes. Slow, unsettling, and hugely influential on the visual language of post-apocalyptic science fiction for decades afterward.

Nostalgia (1983). The first film Tarkovsky made in exile, in Italy — about a Russian poet researching an Italian composer's biography while growing increasingly homesick. Melancholic and biographically significant: Tarkovsky never returned to the USSR after making it.

The one Tarkovsky film not yet in Kinogram's catalog is The Sacrifice (1986), his final work, shot in Sweden. If you've never seen a Tarkovsky film, start with Ivan's Childhood or Solaris — both are more approachable than the rest while still being recognizably his. Save Mirror and Andrei Rublev for later, once you've adjusted to his pace. Full details for every film — synopsis, year, and where to watch — are on their Kinogram pages.