☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Sayat
Nova (The Color of Pomegranates) (1968) – S. Parajanov
What strange artefact is this? What
arcane language of symbols and signals is being directed at me, the humble
viewer? I find myself totally befuddled but in awe of the majestic imagery
created as so many sequential still lives purporting to tell the life history
of an Armenian poet (Sayat Nova himself).
He was born, he grew up, he fell in love, he entered a monastery, he
died. However, not a word of dialogue is
spoken and the soundtrack instead buzzes with middle eastern sounds and we can
read a few scant phrases of his poetry.
Supposedly, those with knowledge of Ukrainian, Georgian, and Armenian
cultures and history can readily decode the mystical and religious messages on
display (for example, the pomegranates apparently seep their red juice into a
puddle the shape of the former Armenian state) – and these were enough to cause
much political trouble for Parajanov in the U. S. S. R. (so much so that the
film was cut upon release). However, the
average modern viewer will probably just get hypnotized, as I did.
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