The Sacrifice      Director: Andrei TarkovskyCert: NoneStarring: Erland Josephson, Susan Fleetwood, Allan Edwall, Guðrún S Gísladóttir, Sven Wollter, Valérie MairesseRunning Time: 2 hrs 22 minsThe shadow of Ingmar Bergman still hangs heavy over Andrei Tarkovsky’s final completed feature. Six years in exile from his native Russia, the director, in 1985, found himself invited to shoot in Sweden. Sven Nykvist, Bergman’s in-house cinematographer, brings his familiar flattened grace to the images. The characters converse in fluvial Nordic mutters. The Baltic looms just over depressed shoulders. One half-expects Harriet Andersson to slope round the corner at any moment.There is, however, no mistaking the characteristic daring of Tarkovsky’s enormous, intricately blocked takes or the quiet despair in his nightmarish insertions. Indeed, one top-down shot of littered post-apocalyptic puddles feels like a conscious reminder this is a film by the man who made Stalker. If not quite so mesmeric as that 1979 film nor as handsome as 1966’s Andrei Rublev, The Sacrifice is, in its serious of purpose, a suitable masterpiece to close one of the great cinematic careers.It takes a while for the end of the world to arrive. We begin with Alexander (Erland Josephson), a former actor now working as a journalist, preparing for imminent birthday celebrations with his wife Adelaide (Susan Fleetwood), stepdaughter Marta and young son Gossen (Tommy Kjellqvist) in his remote house by the chilly sea. Discussions about the silence of God kick off. A painting arrives as a birthday present. Jets roar over the property. Eventually, they learn that nuclear annihilation may be imminent. Adelaide slumps into hysterical despair while Alexander makes deals with an Almighty in whom he had earlier admitted little interest. Even if the theological wrangling will lose some contemporary secularists, the grim beauty and emotional truth of the film-making cannot be denied. Nykvist later explained how he drained colour from some of the most fraught scenes, leaving images apparently sketched in crumbling charcoal. The eternal sadness of JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion bookends a film that also makes spooky use of tunes by Japanese flautist Watazumi Doso.The Sacrifice stands as tribute and memorial. Tarkovsky was diagnosed with cancer shortly after filming ended in 1985 and, too unwell to attend the subsequent Cannes premiere, died a year later. This punishing film, reissued in a 4K restoration, demands to be seen on the big screen.In cinemas from July 31st