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

506. Sayat Nova/The Color of Pomegranates (1969)

Running Time: 78 minutes
Directed By: Sergei Parajanov, Sergei Yutkevich
Written By: Sergei Parajanov, from the poetry of Sayat Nova
Main Cast: Sofiko Chiaureli, Melkon Aleksanyan, Vilen Galstyan, Giorgi Gegechkori, Spartak Bagashvili

TORTURE

My water is of a very special kind./
Not everyone can drink it./
My writing is of a very special kind./
Not everyone can read it./

Wanting to knock out another film from the 60s as I await my two Netflix movies, I again turned to the streaming portion of Netflix tonight and to "The Color of Pomegranates". For my eyes, it was pure torture and probably the longest eighty minutes I've ever spent watching a movie.

I won't even bother attempting to tell you what the film is about, because it lacks a formal narrative. The film is simply image after image, with no dialogue and apparently somewhere in there we're supposed to be getting a telling of the life of Armenian poet Sayat Nova. I'll be completely honest with you folks I gave up even trying to find redeemable qualities in this one after about thirty minutes. Beyond that I was just going through the motions, watching the pictures come up, trying my best to make something beautiful out of them, failing and repeating. Prior to watching "The Color of Pomegranates" I was told of the breathtaking cinematography that I would behold upon watching this "masterpiece". To me, the imagery wasn't breathtaking by any positive sense of the word and I simply found myself praying to God that the time would go faster and this film would simply end, so that I could put it behind me.

As a lover of film, when watching a movie I pattern myself after a fish and all that a movie need do, when trying to appeal to me, is throw me some bait. This film cast it's hook, but not a morsel was to be found. If you call "The Color of Pomegranates" art, then I simply couldn't see it - if you call it poetry, then I simply couldn't hear it. I never apologize for forming my own opinions and I don't plan to start now. "The Color of Pomegranates", from behind my eyes, was nothing more than eighty of the dullest minutes of my life and if not for this grand project, I'd consider it eighty minutes 100% and completely wasted. If you were able to find something artistic, poetic or enlightening about this picture, then I say good for you. You were able to find a gem, where I found only overrated garbage. I never ridicule someone for having an opinion that is more positive than mine, I simply am happy for them that they found something where I couldn't.

In fact, if any fans of this movie are reading this right now, I invite you to firstly cool your head after reading my harsh thoughts and then pop open the "comments" tab at the bottom of this page and try your best to explain to me what it was about this film that touched you. I know many of the fans of this film will consider it art and art isn't often easy to explain, but I do invite you to try....for my sake, if you will.

RATING: 1/10 I immediately hiked "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" to the top of my Netflix queue, as I figure if I'm gonna' do it, I might as well jump in with both feet.

MOVIES WATCHED: 320
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 681

August 11, 2011 1:56am