<quote> *how such an incident could be expected to have an impact on another world war?*
it couldn't unless you have a dark-ages mentality and only have a few functioning brain cells, and want to find yet another reason for rich class-conscious pseudo-intellectual snobs to feel sorry for themselves and fantasize about ridiculous dishonest scenarios in which they would be heroes for making the great sacrifice of screwing their maids and burning down their family's houses. which is also not much of a sacrifice since, even though they live in beautiful houses in beautiful places where most people would love to live, they live in endless self-pitying misery anyway. </quote>
Although I get the impression that you're being sarcastic about the film's effect and its intended audience, you're actually remarkably close to what I think Tarkovsky is actually articulating here - Alexander IS rich, class-conscious, a snob, self-obsessed, and the scenario where he sleeps with Maria (which I strongly suspect is a dream/fantasy) can be seen ironically - Alexander as the saviour of the world by having sex with a woman who isn't his wife. Remember the part where he talks to Maria about his mother's garden - it's all about him; the effect the garden had on him, wanting to make it in his style. When Maria asks 'but what did your mother think?', he can't even summon an answer, he's so narcissistic.
Your point about 'endless self-pitying misery' then is actually pretty close to the mark - I loved the film and get the impression you didn't, but you still hit the nail on the head!
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