September 20, 2007

Two Films


So last night I watched two films.

The first was The Color of Pomegranates, by director Sergei Paradjanov. I picked it up from Netflix, intrigued by the blurb:
Paradjanov's acclaimed poetic masterpiece was banned by Soviet censors who feared it was a nationalist parable.The story depicts the life and spiritual odyssey of the medieval Armenian poet and troubadour Sayat Nova, and his rise from carpet weaver to archbishop and martyr.

And reviewers/viewers had good things to say about it. It sounded interesting.

Not.

If you like art for art's sake, self-conscious creations of imagery and poor production quality, sure, this can't be beat. But I could not stick it out. I guess I should have read further down the reviewers' page, where a helpful soul put down:

Poetic masterpiece? Oh maybe, if you like a nonstop procession of catatonic actors holding strange items in front of the camera, while the camera performs little tricks (slows down, speeds up, overlaps the image, never really tells a story...) Insufferable.


So then I turned to my second movie, Alix Lambert's documentary, The Mark of Cain. It is about life in Russian prisons and, more specifically, about the cult of tattooing that prisoners have employed over the decades to mark and identify themselves. I was put onto the film after hearing Viggo Mortensen talk about how he viewed it as part of his preparation to play a Russian "Thief in Law" in London, in the new film, Eastern Promises.

Lambert's film came out a few years back, was shown on Nightline, and has won an Independent Spirit Award. It does not have US distribution, but should. If you are interested you can probably order a copy directly from Lambert on her website.

I will save my full review for our print edition, but will say here that this is quite possibly one of the best, most revealing documentaries on Russia produced in the last 15 years. As I am sitting there, watching it with my son (15), he turns and says, "This is now? This is not the Gulags?"

Actually, it is the Gulags, and it is still going on. As someone once said (or am I paraphrasing?), you can judge a country by the condition of its prisons and its orphanages - how it takes care of its least fortunate, its underclasses. Well, oil-rich Russia comes out pretty poorly in this film. But it is not one to miss.

Btw, if you are interested in how Lambert got the incredible access she did to these prisons, you can read a bit about it in this interview.

Finally, this is something I stumbled across today. I won't say how, even though it is interesting. You really need to understand Russian to get the full impact. But if you don't, basically it is a Russian guy saying he wants to go out to the bar tonight, and his wife offering, well, counterarguments.

Cheers.

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955