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

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

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.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

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 Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

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