Various dwellers of the Russian forest: Leshiy (forest goblin), Vodyanoy (water spirit), Ovinni (barn spirit) Domovoy (house spirit), Anchutka (gremlin) and Rusalka (mermaid) meet at Baba Yaga's chicken-legged hut and receive an esteemed guest who appears from nowhere. They gather around one table to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new, that is until the guest grows bored with their antics and seeks fun elsewhere.
Beautifully shot in black and white, and scripted by Tarkovsky's collaborator Andrei Konchalovsky, this powerful melodrama tells the story of a young boy who undertakes the perilous journey to Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent, to earn some money for his hungry family. Filming in the periphery of the Soviet Union, in a time of relative political relaxation, director Shukhrat Abbasov actually dared to depict the poverty and famine that resulted from the Bolshevik Revolution.
An expansive Russian drama, this film focuses on the life of revered religious icon painter Andrei Rublev. Drifting from place to place in a tumultuous era, the peace-seeking monk eventually gains a reputation for his art. But after Rublev witnesses a brutal battle and unintentionally becomes involved, he takes a vow of silence and spends time away from his work. As he begins to ease his troubled soul, he takes steps towards becoming a painter once again.