The Color of Pomegranates (1969) (Also known as Sayat Nova) was
written and directed by Sergei Parajanov.
Sofiko Chiaureli portrays the Poet as a Youth, the Poet's Love, The Poet's Muse, Mime, and the Angel of Resurrection. It's amazing that she portrays the poet and his love. Apparently, in the Persian tradition, lovers begin to resemble each other.
The movie depicts 18th Century Trans-Caucasus culture: from the countries of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
The IMDb listing describes the movie this way: "A super-stylized, surreal biography of Armenian troubadour Sayat Nova, whose life is depicted through non-narrative amalgamations of poetic images." That's a very accurate and useful summary.
Sayat Nova (1712 - 1795) was a historical figure. He was a gusan or troubador poet/musician. He composed beautiful verse, which is known widely in the Trans-Caucasus region. His instrument was the kamancha--a bowed instrument with four strings that sounds like a violin.
As shown symbolically in the movie, Sayat Nova was in love with the King's sister. Given the difference in their rank, this love could never be permitted.
However, Sayat Nova did become the Georgian court poet. The poems were intensely romantic. He wrote in Armenian, Georgian, Azerbaijani, and Persian. Sometimes he wrote poems that included some or all of these languages. These poems weren't simply recited--they were sung.
The style of poetry, called Ghazal, is extremely complicated. Here's a description that I found: "A Ghazal is a poem that is made up like an odd numbered chain of couplets, where each couplet is an independent poem." (It's more complex than that, but I don't really understand poetic forms, and I stopped at that point.)
One of his couplets was:
Whether dressed in coarse linen or gold brocade, You turn it into silk, my love.
The movie doesn't have a simple narrative biopic style. Parajanov created a new cinematic language. There's no real dialog. Instead we see images described a poetic fantasies. Many of the images are symbolic, and not always easy to understand. (Probably they make more sense to people within the Trans-Caucasus culture.) However, the beautiful colored scenes are attractive to all of us.
I've never seen a movie quite like this one. It opened new worlds to me--both cinematic and cultural. The movie has a very high IMDb rating of 7.7. To be honest, I didn't know how to rate it. I even considered not rating it at all--just reviewing it. It didn't appear to me to belong on the continuum of all the other films I've rated over the years. Finally, I thought, "Well you loved it. Rate it 10." *** We saw this movie in a two-DVD Criterion Collection edition. The first DVD was the movie itself. The second DVD contained a wealth of specials. I've listed them below. If you think the movie wouldn't appeal to you, the specials won't either. If that's the case, I would just ignore them.
If you think you'd like the movie, try to find the Criterion Collection version. In that case, what I've written below can be your guide. Note that the film titled Decoding The Color of Pomegranates (2017) directed by James Steffen, could be watched before you watch The Color of Pomegranates. The film will make more sense to you if you see Steffen's explanation of the symbolism. __________________________________________________________________ Here are the special films:
Tsvet armyanskov zemli (1969) (Short) "Parajanov: The Color of Armenian Land" Directed by Mikhail Vartanov (1969) 19 minutes. Director Vartanov shows us Armenian architecture, and ancient and contemporary art. There's no dialog.
The film includes brief footage of Parajanov directing Sayat Nova. It wasn't released until 43 years later (2012) because the artist showed Parajanov at work and he was blacklisted for that reason.
The movie has a weak IMDb rating of 6.6. I thought it was much better, and rated it 9. ______________________________________________________________ James Steffen (Director) The Making of Color of Pomegranates. (19 minutes.) Director Steffen shows us that Parajanov created a new cinematic language. Steffen uses the phrase "Poetic Cinema." He calls the movie a poetic fantasy on the life of Sayat Nova. We learn that Parajanov was punished because he refused to adhere to the standard style of Soviet Realism. __________________________________________________________________ Decoding The Color of Pomegranates (2017) Directed by James Steffen (42 minutes). A video essay containing a close reading of the symbols and references of Color of Pomegranates. Very helpful--consider watching it before you see the movie itself. __________________________________________________________________ Sergei Parajanov: The Rebel (2003) 51 minutes. Directed by Patrick Cazals. Filmed in the Sergei Parajanov Museum in Armenia. This movie includes an interesting interview with Sofiko Chiaureli, the star of Parajanov's masterpiece, The Color of Pomegranates.
This movie won't really stand on its own. It will make more sense once you've seen The Color of Pomegranates. This film carries an fairly weak IMDb rating of 6.8. I rated it 9. ____________________________________________________________________ The Life of Sayat Nova (1977) is a 26-minute film that appeared on French television. It was directed by Carlos de los Llanos. This movie isn't so much about Sayat Nova as it is about his poetry and his music. Much of the screen time is devoted to a musical ensemble called "Sayat Nova," that performs his music and his poetry. Sayat Nova's preferred instrument was the kamancha. It's a bowed string instrument. It looks strange to our eyes. The notes produced by the kamancha sound like violin notes, but the music is in the Persian (Eastern) style, not the Western style to which we are accustomed. ___________________________________________________________________ The Last Film (2015) is an experimental three-minute movie directed by Mantiros Vartanov, the son of Mikhail Vartanov. It stars Taguhi Vardanyan, who was, indeed, a child actor in a Russian movie called Den bumazhnogo zmeya or Kite Day (1986). There are brief clips of a young girl being asked if she wants to be in a movie (yes) and if she wants to become an actor when she grows up (yes). (These looked like real clips from the casting session, but they could be reproductions made to look old.)
In any case, Vardanyan is now an extremely elegant woman, wearing a classic black dress, who tells us that she gave up her acting goal in order to become a violinist. However, as far as I can tell, she's not a violinist, but is now an major Armenian TV personality.
Anyway, that's the movie. It was done as a memorial to directors Sergei Parajanov and Mikhail Vartanov.
Sofiko Chiaureli portrays the Poet as a Youth, the Poet's Love, The Poet's Muse, Mime, and the Angel of Resurrection. It's amazing that she portrays the poet and his love. Apparently, in the Persian tradition, lovers begin to resemble each other.
The movie depicts 18th Century Trans-Caucasus culture: from the countries of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
The IMDb listing describes the movie this way: "A super-stylized, surreal biography of Armenian troubadour Sayat Nova, whose life is depicted through non-narrative amalgamations of poetic images." That's a very accurate and useful summary.
Sayat Nova (1712 - 1795) was a historical figure. He was a gusan or troubador poet/musician. He composed beautiful verse, which is known widely in the Trans-Caucasus region. His instrument was the kamancha--a bowed instrument with four strings that sounds like a violin.
As shown symbolically in the movie, Sayat Nova was in love with the King's sister. Given the difference in their rank, this love could never be permitted.
However, Sayat Nova did become the Georgian court poet. The poems were intensely romantic. He wrote in Armenian, Georgian, Azerbaijani, and Persian. Sometimes he wrote poems that included some or all of these languages. These poems weren't simply recited--they were sung.
The style of poetry, called Ghazal, is extremely complicated. Here's a description that I found: "A Ghazal is a poem that is made up like an odd numbered chain of couplets, where each couplet is an independent poem." (It's more complex than that, but I don't really understand poetic forms, and I stopped at that point.)
One of his couplets was:
Whether dressed in coarse linen or gold brocade, You turn it into silk, my love.
The movie doesn't have a simple narrative biopic style. Parajanov created a new cinematic language. There's no real dialog. Instead we see images described a poetic fantasies. Many of the images are symbolic, and not always easy to understand. (Probably they make more sense to people within the Trans-Caucasus culture.) However, the beautiful colored scenes are attractive to all of us.
I've never seen a movie quite like this one. It opened new worlds to me--both cinematic and cultural. The movie has a very high IMDb rating of 7.7. To be honest, I didn't know how to rate it. I even considered not rating it at all--just reviewing it. It didn't appear to me to belong on the continuum of all the other films I've rated over the years. Finally, I thought, "Well you loved it. Rate it 10." *** We saw this movie in a two-DVD Criterion Collection edition. The first DVD was the movie itself. The second DVD contained a wealth of specials. I've listed them below. If you think the movie wouldn't appeal to you, the specials won't either. If that's the case, I would just ignore them.
If you think you'd like the movie, try to find the Criterion Collection version. In that case, what I've written below can be your guide. Note that the film titled Decoding The Color of Pomegranates (2017) directed by James Steffen, could be watched before you watch The Color of Pomegranates. The film will make more sense to you if you see Steffen's explanation of the symbolism. __________________________________________________________________ Here are the special films:
Tsvet armyanskov zemli (1969) (Short) "Parajanov: The Color of Armenian Land" Directed by Mikhail Vartanov (1969) 19 minutes. Director Vartanov shows us Armenian architecture, and ancient and contemporary art. There's no dialog.
The film includes brief footage of Parajanov directing Sayat Nova. It wasn't released until 43 years later (2012) because the artist showed Parajanov at work and he was blacklisted for that reason.
The movie has a weak IMDb rating of 6.6. I thought it was much better, and rated it 9. ______________________________________________________________ James Steffen (Director) The Making of Color of Pomegranates. (19 minutes.) Director Steffen shows us that Parajanov created a new cinematic language. Steffen uses the phrase "Poetic Cinema." He calls the movie a poetic fantasy on the life of Sayat Nova. We learn that Parajanov was punished because he refused to adhere to the standard style of Soviet Realism. __________________________________________________________________ Decoding The Color of Pomegranates (2017) Directed by James Steffen (42 minutes). A video essay containing a close reading of the symbols and references of Color of Pomegranates. Very helpful--consider watching it before you see the movie itself. __________________________________________________________________ Sergei Parajanov: The Rebel (2003) 51 minutes. Directed by Patrick Cazals. Filmed in the Sergei Parajanov Museum in Armenia. This movie includes an interesting interview with Sofiko Chiaureli, the star of Parajanov's masterpiece, The Color of Pomegranates.
This movie won't really stand on its own. It will make more sense once you've seen The Color of Pomegranates. This film carries an fairly weak IMDb rating of 6.8. I rated it 9. ____________________________________________________________________ The Life of Sayat Nova (1977) is a 26-minute film that appeared on French television. It was directed by Carlos de los Llanos. This movie isn't so much about Sayat Nova as it is about his poetry and his music. Much of the screen time is devoted to a musical ensemble called "Sayat Nova," that performs his music and his poetry. Sayat Nova's preferred instrument was the kamancha. It's a bowed string instrument. It looks strange to our eyes. The notes produced by the kamancha sound like violin notes, but the music is in the Persian (Eastern) style, not the Western style to which we are accustomed. ___________________________________________________________________ The Last Film (2015) is an experimental three-minute movie directed by Mantiros Vartanov, the son of Mikhail Vartanov. It stars Taguhi Vardanyan, who was, indeed, a child actor in a Russian movie called Den bumazhnogo zmeya or Kite Day (1986). There are brief clips of a young girl being asked if she wants to be in a movie (yes) and if she wants to become an actor when she grows up (yes). (These looked like real clips from the casting session, but they could be reproductions made to look old.)
In any case, Vardanyan is now an extremely elegant woman, wearing a classic black dress, who tells us that she gave up her acting goal in order to become a violinist. However, as far as I can tell, she's not a violinist, but is now an major Armenian TV personality.
Anyway, that's the movie. It was done as a memorial to directors Sergei Parajanov and Mikhail Vartanov.