Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Sergei Parajanov, 1965, Soviet Union)

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is the film where director Sergei Parajanov would state this his career began (he would disown all of his works made before 1965). Aside from The Color of Pomegranates, it is perhaps his best-known film - though disappointingly still limited in terms of its availability in the US. The film is based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Ukrainian author Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky and tells a "Romeo and Juliet" story of Ukrainian Hutsul lovers trapped on two sides of a Carpathian feud. A notable departure from the socialist realist style common in films from the period, Parajanov's splashy use of folkloric imagery, including elaborate costumes, music, and cinematography, made a large impact on the international film community.

Parajanov, though born in Georgia to an Armenian family, was largely sympathetic to Ukrainian nationalism, and the film was noteworthy at the time for being shot in the Ukrainian language (in fact a regional dialect - Hutsul). The film is a full-on embrace of the Hutsul folk culture, down to the film's soundtrack, written by composer Myroslav Skoryk. Parajanov uses a highly symbolic style, that relies heavily on various recurring motifs and images, as well as the use of color. Perhaps one of the most notable aspects of the film is Parajanov's use of the camera. There are long tracking shots in the film that almost give the impression of being on an amusement park ride. It was in Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors that Parajanov would embrace the beautiful, color-laden tableaus that his films have been most known for.

The film is now widely regarded as the greatest Ukrainian film of all time. It is certainly a memorable experience that cannot be adequately expressed in words - it is one of the truly "cinematic" films in existence.

9/10