Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

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Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
Directed by Sergei Parajanov
Written by Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky
(story)
Ivan Chendej
Starring Ivan Mikolajchuk
Mikhaylo Koysyubinskiy
Tatyana Bestayeva
Music by Miroslav Skorik
Cinematography Viktor Bestayev
Yuri Ilyenko
Distributed by Artkino Pictures {USA}
Films sans Frontières (France)
Release date(s) 1964
Running time 97 min.
Language Ukrainian
IMDb profile

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Ukrainian: Тіні забутих предків, Tini zabutykh predkiv), also called Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors, Shadows of Our Ancestors, or Wild Horses of Fire - is a 1964 film by the Soviet-Armenian filmmaker Sergei Parajanov based on the book by Ukrainian writer Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky. The film was Parajanov's first major work and earned him international acclaim for its rich use of costume and color. The film also features a detailed portrayal of Ukrainian Hutsul culture, showing not only the harsh Carpathian environment and brutal family rivalries, but also the beauty of Hutsul traditions, music, costumes, and dialect.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Ivan and Palagna at their wedding.
Ivan and Palagna at their wedding.

In a small Hutsul village in the Carpathian mountains of the Ukraine, a young boy, Ivan, falls in love with the daughter of the man who killed his father. Though their families share a bitter enmity, Ivan and Marichka have known each other since childhood. In preparation for their marriage, Ivan leaves the village to work and earn money for a household. While he is gone, Marichka accidentally slips into a river and drowns. Ivan returns and falls into despair after seeing her body. He continues to work, enduring a period of joyless toil, until he meets another woman, Palagna, while shoeing a horse. Ivan and Palagna get married in a traditional Hutsul wedding that involves them being blindfolded and yoked together. The marriage quickly turns sour, however, as Ivan remains obsessed with the memory of Marichka. Estranged from her emotionally distant husband, Palagna pursues a local sorcerer while Ivan begins to experience hallucinations. At a drinking hall, Ivan witnesses the sorcerer embrace Palagna and strike one of his friends. Aroused into an uncharacteristic fury, Ivan snatches up his axe, only to be struck by the sorcerer’s own axe. Ivan stumbles into the nearby woods and perceives Marichka's spirit to be with him, reflected in the water and gliding amongst the trees. As reality melds into dream, the colorless shade of Marichka reaches out across a great space and touches Ivan's outstretched hand. Ivan screams and dies. The community gives him a traditional Hutsul burial while children watch through crossbraced windows.

[edit] Themes

The film is highly symbolic, making frequent use of religious and folkloric images that include crosses, lambs, graves, and spirits. The film also uses color to represent mood. During Ivan's period of mourning, black and white film stock is used. In other scenes, colors are often muted, but provide a contrast to vivid use of red and yellow. This color palette gives a sense of underlying passion and struggle against destiny.[1] On its release, the film's presentation contrasted with the common social realism style that had government approval. After refusing to change the film, Parajanov was soon blacklisted from Soviet cinema.[2]

[edit] Release

The film was seen by 8.5 million viewers in the USSR. [1]

[edit] Filming

Parts of the film were shot in the Dovzhenko Film Studios.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sergei Paradjanov
  2. ^ Sergei Paradzhanov

[edit] External links

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Cinema of Russia
Cinema of the Russian Empire (pre-1917) • Cinema of the Soviet Union (1917–1990)