424. Tini zabutykh predkiv/Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964)

Running Time: 97 minutes
Directed By: Sergei Parajanov
Written By: Ivan Chendej, from story by Mikhaylo Mikhaylovich Koysyubinskiy
Main Cast: Ivan Mikolajchuk, Larysa Kadochnikova, Tatyana Bestayeva, Spartak Bagashvili
Click here to view the trailer

WEEKEND, U.S.S.R. DOUBLE FEATURE

Well, the wife was feeling a little drowsy this evening and decided to take a nap, so I took the opportunity to slip in another movie and step one pace closer to my next TOP 20. Since August I've been dreading "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" - ever since I watched "The Color of Pomegranates", Sergei Parajanov's other feature in THE BOOK. Turns out, he actually improved...a little.

The film's central character is Ivan (Mikolajchuk), whom we come upon when he is a young boy. From a very young age, Ivan is forced to cope with death, as both his brother and father die, when he is just a boy. After his father's funeral, Ivan meets a young girl named Marichka (Kadochnikova), whom he immediately befriends. The two grow up together and ultimately form a romantic relationship when they reach adulthood. When Ivan ventures out to find work, he promises Marichka that he'll return before winter and asks her to wait for him. While he is gone, Marichka scales the side of a mountain, to retrieve a stray goat and falls into the river, drowning. When Ivan returns and sees the dead body of Marichka, he falls into a deep state of loneliness and melancholia. Eventually, after the passing of some time, Ivan meets another woman, Palagna (Bestayeva), whom he marries. The marriage, however, slowly falls apart when Ivan continues to obsess over Marichka and become incensed at Palagna's failure to bear him a child. Palagna eventually picks up the art of sorcery (or witchcraft) and begins to cheat on Ivan with a local sorcerer.

I remember the reason why I watched "The Color of Pomegranates" when I did, was because, while on a message board trying to evoke suggestions about the most visually striking films of all-time, someone brought it up. I remember being so disappointed with "The Color of Pomegranates" and wondering why it got showered with so much praise for it's "gorgeous" cinematography. I'm even more befuddled by that wrongful accolade today. "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors", if nothing else, is a film that will absolutely make your eyes pop! Let me start off by saying that I ultimately didn't care too much for the picture, however whether you like it or not, the movie will seer images into your brain that you'll never forget. I knew it was going to be a visual delight, when at the beginning of the film, a shot of a very tall tree falling to the ground, is shot from the point of view of the top of the tree. Parajanov, like Federico Fellini, knew how to manipulate his colors and use them to their maximum advantage. I also love how Parajanov joins color and black & white, using the black & white for when the character of Ivan is at his lowest.

On the other hand, "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" doesn't have much to it's advantage, outside of it's cinematography. The film is quite boring, at least from this author's perspective and is extremely "artsy" and overly dramatic. It's something that I'd picture old Ukranian women watching, handkerchiefs in hand and bawling their eyes out and something that is not only of it's time, but behind it's time - at least from a storyline perspective. It's something that, despite it's visual achievements, leaves something to be desired on almost all other levels. It had me watching the clock and counting down the minutes until I could put this one behind me and move on in my journey, so for that reason I cannot recommend it, no matter how beautiful it looks. If you can watch a movie for visual delights alone, then by all means, watch "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors", as it's probably one of the most visually striking movies you'll ever behold. If you're like me and need more than that, then give this one a pass.

RATING: 4.5/10 Well I made it through Sergei Parajanov and I didn't even get a lousy t-shirt. Until next time.

MOVIES WATCHED: 360
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 641

December 3, 2011 11:14pm