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The Color of Pomegranates
	; DVD cover
Directed by	Sergei Parajanov
Written by	Sergei Parajanov; Sayat-Nova (poems)
Narrated by	Armen Dzhigarkhanyan
Starring	Sofiko Chiaureli; Melkon Aleksanyan; Vilen Galstyan; Giorgi Gegechkori
Music by	Tigran Mansuryan
Studio	Armenfilm
Release date(s)	1968
Running time	79 minutes
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Armenian

The Color of Pomegranates (Armenian: Նռան գույնը, Nran guyne; originally released in the Armenian SSR as Սայաթ-Նովա, Sayat Nova) is a 1968 motion picture by the Soviet Armenian director Sergei Parajanov, considered to be one of the best movies ever made by Federico Fellini, Jean-Luc Godard, Michelangelo Antonioni, and many others.^[1] It was censored, refused an export license and banned in the Soviet Union but made the Top 10 list in Cahiers du cinéma^[2] in 1982 and Top 100 in Time Out^[3].

[edit] Overview

The Color of Pomegranates is a biography of the Armenian ashug Sayat Nova (King of Song) that attempts to reveal the poet's life visually and poetically rather than literally. The film depicts the poet's coming of age, discovery of the female form, falling in love, entering a monastery and dying, all framed through both Sergei Parajanov's imagination and Sayat Nova's poems. Actor Sofiko Chiaureli notably plays six roles in the film, both male and female.^[4]

The director had claimed his inspiration was "the Armenian illuminated miniatures. I wanted to create that inner dynamic that comes from inside the picture, the forms and the dramaturgy of colour."^[5]. Paradjanov once made a speech in Minsk in which he asserted that the Armenian public very likely did not understand Sayat Nova, but then said that people "are going to this picture as to a holiday" (Paradjanov, "Vystuplenie" 610). The Color of Pomegranates was referenced in the films Peter Greenaway in Indianapolis (1997) and Erased Faces II (2006).^{[citation needed]} Clips from the movie are used in a music video for the song God Is God by the musical group Juno Reactor and later also by the Iranian band Kiosk.

[edit] Cast

Sofiko Chiaureli Poet as a Youth / Poet's Love / Poet's Muse / Mime / Angel of Resurrection
Melkon Aleksanyan Poet as a child (as M. Alekyan)
Vilen Galstyan Poet in the cloister
Giorgi Gegechkori Poet as an old man
Spartak Bagashvili Poet's father
Medea Djaparidze Poet's mother
Hovhannes Minasyan Prince
Onik Minasyan Prince

[edit] Themes

The film deals with such themes such as:

A poet's soul and state of mind^{[citation needed]}
the destiny of the 'selfless heart' man (genius or not) and the solitude of exceptional human beings.^{[citation needed]}
the superficiality of the world^{[citation needed]}
the Armenian culture which accompanied the poet: clothes, music, colors, art in life, centuries-old monasteries, religion and customs in life of people.^{[citation needed]}
celebration of a country's traditions and folklore.^{[citation needed]}
a poet dies but his muse is immortal (from the poetry of Sayat Nova himself)^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Critical reception

The film could be considered non-narrative, with the story carried visually or aurally, and uses highly conceptual imagery. It is a series of Tableau vivants, often preferring cuts to camera moves. Filmmaker Mikhail Vartanov has said, "besides the film language suggested by Griffith and Eisenstein, the world cinema has not discovered anything revolutionarily new until the 'Color of Pomegranates,' not counting the generally unaccepted language of the 'Andalusian Dog' by Buñuel." According to Michelangelo Antonioni, "Parajanov’s Color of Pomegranates is of a stunningly perfect beauty. Parajanov, in my opinion, is one of best film directors in the world."^[6]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[0] Armenian Cinema at Parajanov.com

[1] Cachiers Du Cinema, Top10 Lists

[2] Time Out Top100 Films (Centenary)

[3] "Sayat-Nova" at Parajanov.com

[4] Armenian Rhapsody, The Independent, London, 1999

[5] Sergey Parajanov, film director, as an artist

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