One of the most significant films of the modern cinema, Tarkovsky’s historical epic was conceived as a monumental parable that portrays not only the great Russian medieval painter of frescoes and icons through the seven "epochs" of his life, but also the authentic environment, rituals, and sociopolitical tenor of the time. Masterfully conceived and realized, the film was shelved for years by the Soviet censors, who found it "too dark" and "politically inappropriate."