THE SCHOOL OF TARKOVSKY PART 17: AMAT ESCALANTE

It was a really important moment for me - Amat Escalante on seeing Tarkovsky's films

I was watching hundreds of movies and being obsessed with Herzog, Robert Bresson, Tarkovsky, Fassbinder, Fritz Lang, all these things. - Amat Escalante

I’m hoping that the combination of the quotes above (direct from the source) combined with the images below should be enough to convince you all that the talented Amat Escalante comes from the school of Andrei Tarkovsky much like his Mexican contemporary/"mentee"; Carlos Reygadas.

Enjoy...

I'd prefer to start things off with this fairly uncanny comparison between Tarkovsky's The Mirror (left) & Escalante's The Untamed. The positioning of the actors, the framing, etc...

The Mirror / The Untamed

Heli / The Mirror / Nostalghia / Sacrifice

Stalker / The Untamed

Ivan's Childhood / Heli

Heli / Sacrifice / Andrei Rublev

Solaris / Heli

Tarkovsky is certainly not the first director to shoot someone from behind for an extended period of time. But I still think it's safe to say that Amat more than likely drew some direct influence from Tarkovsky's films. Note the similar ambiance/settings between The Mirror & The Untamed (directly below) or the way the figures in both The Mirror & The Untamed stop to look back in their respective films (second image from the top)

The Mirror / The Untamed

The Mirror / The Untamed

The Mirror / Sangre

The Mirror / Los Bastardos

Stalker / Amarrados