The Soviet regime of the USSR were known for placing many political and nationalist dissidents in jail for openly protesting against their regime. The Armenian director, Sergei Parajanov, spent five of his formative years behind soviet bars. The reason was not political confrontation but due to his active resistance to the Soviet cinematic style of social realism. Parajanov preferred surrealistic and mystic visuals in his films, and that small belief cost him five years of his life. A great example of his visual style is found in his 1965 ode to the Ukrainian Hutsui culture, titled, “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”. There is no indication as to the time period of the story, as it could have been placed at any time from the 18th century and up until before the socialist regime took over the Ukraine. The people portrayed in the movie had a lifestyle that was unchanged for centuries. They are the Hutsui people of the Ukrainian mountains. They had a distinct culture of art, costume and music, as well as a way of life that was as harsh as their environment. Prajanov’s movie tells the oft told timeless tale of tragic love. The movie has a kinetic style that uses quick moving camera movements that while breathtaking in moments were also dizzying at times. For example, the movie begins with a famous first person prospective scene of a falling tree from the perspective of the tree itself as it falls and kills the brother of the movie’s hero, Ivan (Ivan Mykolaichuk). He died sacrificing himself to protect his little Brother. At the subsequent funeral, Ivan’s Father gets into an argument with one of his neighbors and is killed by the neighbor with one of the typical Hutsue axes during the ensuing fight. Ivan’s Father dies at the funeral of his brother, who died saving Ivan’s life. This leaves Ivan an intense feeling of guilt that he will carry for the rest of his life. The movie goes on to depict an extremely moving love that Ivan has with the small daughter of his Father’s killer. They grow up in love and their love is beautifully painted through the wild camera actions used by Parajanov. There is a scene, whereas as children, they both skinny dip in a mountain pond. The camera watches them from afar and moves up and over, to the sound of their laughter and joy. From there they grow up happy and in love with each other. This is a tragic story that does not let its protagonist off the hook. The tragedy that will befall Ivan, is the last straw of his mounting guilt, and will leave him in a deep and dark sorrow until the movie’s bitter end. In detailing the life struggles of Ivan, Parajanov succeeds in showing us the little known and colorful Hutsui culture. His detail in the costumes and sets are impeccable. Set in the harsh Ukrainian mountains and dealing with a village life supported by cutting trees for lumber, the movie makes no short cuts in showing us the difficulty and suffering that exists in this environment. Only love can give one strength to carry on, but the fragility of love in this existence is emphasized to the extreme. The movie also explodes with traditional Hutsui music that is almost Indian in its eastern feel. The scenes of a funeral and a wedding shine in cultural references. For example, during the wedding, the two people betrothed are blindfolded during the ceremony while the mystical music is chanted. Then for the wedding night I watched the feet of the bride as she was being undressed from the many layers she had on during the ceremony. The camera for once in the film does not move and stays stationary on the bride’s feet as all the layers of clothes fall to the floor. It is a beautiful and poignant scene. Parajanov films his story like a dream and uses surrealistic images to interpret the character’s feelings and desires. There were times that the movie, which is filmed in vibrant colors, felt like a silent movie without inter titles as the body language and facial expressions of the actors told much more than the actual sparse dialogue. Ultimately this is a movie about real love that never dies. It relays a message that even when the body has ceased to exist, the spirit of love lives on. It is the exciting, different and sometimes confusing style of Parajanov’s camera that succeeds in carrying this message. For that reason alone, “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”, is worth a look.
1001 Movies before you die 