Tini zabutykh predkiv
Tags: insanity, psychedelic, romantic, melodrama

Plot synopsis:
In a small Hutsul village in the Carpathian mountains of Ukraine, a young man, 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 while trying to rescue a lost lamb.
Ivan returns and falls into despair after seeing Marichka's 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 in which they are 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 becomes involved with a local sorcerer, while Ivan begins to experience hallucinations.
At a tavern, Ivan witnesses the sorcerer embrace Palagna and strike one of his friends. Roused into an uncharacteristic fury, Ivan snatches up his axe, only to be struck down by the sorcerer. 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 merges 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.

Review: The first half of the film deals with that love and the second with Ivan's downfall after she dies in an accident.Shadows would probably not appeal to someone looking for great acting, strong characterizations and emotional pull.
Not exactly commercial fare, Shadows is a stunningly beautiful looking film and in fact a lesson in old Ukrainain culture.
The good news is that Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Shadows), a truly exceptional film, is out in DVD format—and, the color reproduction was well worth waiting for.
It's based on a masterpiece novel of the same name written by Ukrainian author (late 19th-early 20th centuries) Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky.Journey into the past and experience the world-renowned Ukrainian Hutsul folklore and folkways that encyclopedists, historians, and authors depict by way of words and the film gives credence to via imagery, moods, symbolism, and sounds.
Avenues you'll travel will branch off, giving you exposure to artistic embroideries, folk music, folk songs, ornate costumes, religious ceremonies, and traditional rituals (such as a traditional Hutsul wedding and a traditional Hutsul burial), along the way.Folklife comes alive as you float down a river in a unique wooden raft, partake in Christmas festivities, encounter a sorcerer, and lots more--all against a backdrop of the magnificent Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains, where trees' shadows silhouette straight as they stretch for the stars and for the skies, where horses dress in tassels as they meander meadows and highlands, where Hutsuls converse across Carpathian Mountains via trembitas--and, where Ivan cannot forget his true love.Shadows isn't your typical feel-good film--it's for the connoisseur of fine arts.
If you want your senses stimulated, your imagination enlivened, and your knowledge of Hutsul culture expanded, then, this is the film for you!Film director, Sergei Parajanov, was an Armenian born in Georgia.
In his lifetime, he was persecuted by the Soviets, was arrested several times, spent years in prison, and his subsequent works were banned.Later renamed Wild Horses of Fire for most foreign distributions, Shadows was Parajanov's first major work, and earned him international acclaim for its rich use of color and costume--it won six international film festival awards: London, San Francisco, Mar del Plata, New York, Montreal, and Thessaloniki.Wikipedia states that Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan borrowed the title of their book, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors: A Search for Who We Are, from the movie of that same name, which they state has little in common with the "haunting 1964 film."The bad news is that a number of descriptive entries are inaccurate.
The descriptions on both the VHS and DVD covers state, in part, "depiction of the harsh realities of Russian regional history...." The phrase "Russian regional history" is incorrect and should read: "Ukrainian regional history." Not only is the film in the Ukrainian language, the Hutsuls are Ukrainians living in the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains, and the film is based on a novel by Ukrainian author Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky (1864-1913).Update: This has now been changed to good news on Amazon.com: the copy now reads "Ukrainian regional history." However, anybody looking at the actual VHS or DVD covers will still see these erroneous descriptions; thus, these points still need to be highlighted as incorrect.2.
1 above) regional history forced visionary director Sergei Pararadjanov (The Color of Pomegranates) into direct conflict with bureaucrats then controlling the Soviet film industry...."Director Parajanov insisted on filming his adaptation in the Ukrainian language and refused to dub it into Russian--that's what caused his conflict with Communist authorities--not his portrayal of the "harsh realities of Russian (sic—as referenced in no.
1 above) regional history." However, anybody looking at the VHS or DVD covers will still see these erroneous descriptions; thus, these points still need to be highlighted as incorrect.To see 45 photos depicting Hutsuls while learning more about their culture, please visit Amazon.com and click on "images" in Mandrivnyk's book review of Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors.Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is a must see/must own DVD--at the very least, it should appear worldwide on library shelves and in personal collections.
In a world of cinematic rubbish Paradjanov stands as a warrior fighting for long lost cause; making a movie that actually transcends the viewer to the world the director is trying to create.
The feeling of magic in creating images in light upon the wall never left him; perhaps it revealed to him the perfect medium for living out dreams.Watching "Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors" is like that moment of discovery: it makes us feel the same joy some have felt in discovering Bresson or Godard, the joy of finding out what film can do.
The movie, a sort of folk- Ukrainian "Romeo and Juliet," bursts with passion and physicality, chasing its protagonists through some of the most wild and beautiful landscapes ever caught on film.
Yet the real romance here is between director Parajanov and the camera, which swoons and runs and bounds as ardently as any young lover, whether falling like a tree to the ground or spinning through a field or moping grief-stricken in a corner.
Parajanov, like a honeymooning bridegroom, tries everything; he veers from silent-film subtitles to new-wave editing gimmicks to Russian iconography within seconds, and yet the tricks never feel anachronistic.
The experience is almost like being strapped to a malfunctioning rollercoaster, as a relatively straightforward story - young man falls in love with neighbour; she dies; he mourns; remarries; still loves dead mate (Wuthering Heights anyone?) - is violently attacked by hurling camera movements that reveal the most vertiginous spaces, both exterior and interior; bizarre angles (eg from a falling tree); a restless mix of music from Kusturica-like horn blowers, shards of modernism and thrilling Romanticism; content that blends myth, dreams, legends, folk tales etc.; and editing that bewilders and disrupts rather than matches and connects.
romeo & juliet in the carpathians a love story of children as adults as the people really are children,swirling hand held camera,unnatural colours,beautiful chromatic photography to set the tone of despair, paradjanov uses every trick in the book &then some.wonderful music & a sense of the times these people lived,the customs,clothes,religous iconography all come together in a wonderful film.one of my all time favourites.from a master..
The difference between worlds is simple; in the West, you had the luxury of painting and theater, and music melded into that with opera, so when cinema rolled around a few centuries later, there was already an established reservoir of ways to see and imagine.
The collective soul had to pour that way, which is why they still persist and resonate in these parts; in the work of Kazantzakis, Bregovic, Kusturica and others, also why Western-influenced makers like Angelopoulos or Ceylan speak far less to the common folk.You have to appreciate the significance of this in terms of cinema.
So a memory that is sang and danced out by the camera, and because he is not constrained by a visual tradition, the world of the film is freeform and spontaneous waters, an absolute marvel to watch.
Parajanov does neither, in a similar way to his friend Tarkovsky.He provides deeply felt illogical machinery of that world to swim into, remember this is a world where sorcery is believed and wards off a storm, and prayer manifests as a lout from the woods looking for sex, in other words, we are not mere spectators to a gaudy visual dance from faraway times, the film is made so that we feel the urges and pulls of the world dancing around us.
He pulls fabric to film from the ether around the edges of someome experiencing a story, the same deeply felt air that a singer cannot put to words and responds to with a song.Look for the amazing finale.
The thing is that him confronting or being confronted at the tavern, is, in itself, knowing about the sorcerer and his wife, knowing at the same instant that his father's death was the result of a similarly veiled and bubbling causality, knowing all in once that the universe, the cosmic dance, is not random but has inexplicable agency.An invisible axe is spunning and cutting the tethers.The way Parajanov filmed has been taken up by many, sure enough, Malick included.
The elements I liked about the film, and what makes it stand out, are the cinematography, use of color, costumes, and the occasionally poetic image.
There was also a conscious choice in one sequence to film in black-and-white for narrative reasons, to visually depict the protagonist's emotional state.
Moreover, the extreme beauty of some images, the camera "overwork" compared to the poverty of the acting and the lack of in-depth of the characters, makes the film look magnificent but also formalist, "manieriste" at the same time.
Among all this, a sort of plot emerges, with the story of the crazy love between Ivan and Marichka, a couple belonging to feuding families, and of Ivan's life and marriage with another woman called Palagna after Marichka's tragic death.
On the whole, I like Paradjanov's future feature The Color of Pomegranates better, which I think it's far more accomplished, but I this is very much well worth seeing to any cinema lover..
I first saw this film in 1973 when it was relatively new, and one of my most vivid memories of it was the director's marvelous use of rich colors.
Sergei Parajanov's Teni Zabytykh Predkov aka Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964) is original, surprising film, baroque in style and extraordinary fast.
You can practically feel dizziness from the rapid and unusual camera angles and you will be mesmerized by the colors of the traditional costumes, sounds of the folk songs, and by the sheer magic of Paradjanov's world.
I can imagine how much ahead of time it was upon releasing.The story about Guzul guy Ivan who loved a girl, lost her forever, suffered deeply, tried to forget her by marrying another woman, could not make that woman happy and was ultimately betrayed by her, is told in incredibly triumphant exuberant, and poetic way.
The story of star-crossed lovers has been explored in art, literature, and cinema many times, and it is not surprising then the first half of the film sounds as rephrases of "Romeo and Juliette".
Parajanov -- one of such directors and his film looks feels absolutely seamless, wholesome, and organic.The DVD which I saw includes among the bonus features the documentary "Andrei Tarkovsky and Sergei Parajanov.
The 40 minutes long film explores the similarities in the work of two very different but outstanding artists who deeply loved and admired each other's Art. Tarkovsky said that Parajanov was absolutely free in the way he expressed himself in his films, nobody could compare with him in this freedom of expression, lust for life, and readiness to go to the end in order to make film according his vision.
My Rating : 7/10A simple story well-told about love and loss in the Hutsul culture of Western Ukraine.
If you like elaborate costumes, folk music and dance and the simplicity of village life this is your ticket.Otherworldly, visually unique, certainly for the arthouse film fan.
Watching Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is like being placed into a society where film-making evolved down a very different path.
Uninformed by the conventions of Western European & American films, where story arc and images follow a predictable pattern and continuously reference common social themes, Ancestors immerses itself in the visual imagery of a very different culture - the rural Hutsuls of the Carpathian Mountains in the Ukraine.
The film takes place in the Ukraine and the language is Ukrainian, the action taken from folk stories occurs centuries before in a culture as foreign to the Western European mind as if it had been shot in the Far East with little attempt to explain it as it rolls along.
Sad, monotonous folk songs, folk dances, awful musical score are supposed to fit with that (unspecified) historical period; unnaturally looking costumes clumsily worn by the actors and extras; practically no plot to speak of, and no meaningful dialog; beautiful mountains and woods shot with irritatingly jerky moving camera; flashing colors from time to time for no reason, surprisingly inept, unprofessionally looking and talking actors.*** for (mostly unsuccessful) effort.
From the looks of the reviews about it on this Web page there are many people out there who just love this film and I'm not sure why?
I haven't seen one like this before - a movie whose each frame bursts with color (at times deliberate lack of it) bringing a stream of beautiful art passing before your eyes!
Since the movie Is presented in such a subjective way I can't help but respond to what I see as honestly as possible, and it's both impressive for just how far this director and his DP get on the train to complete abandon of realism while at the same time leaving me...
She wants children but his mind stays on his lost love.The film is highly symbolic, making frequent use of religious and folkloric images that include crosses, lambs, graves, and spirits.
After refusing to change the film, Parajanov was soon blacklisted from Soviet cinema.I don't think i understand all the symbolism, but I loved the use of color.
All this culminates in two scenes: the old woman laughing after she's spoken the Christian blessing, and Ivan searching, and finding death in Marichka's cold hands, reaching for him from the realm of shadows & ghosts, which is not a bad place - it's just not for the living.
The burial ceremony is entirely superfluous (not to the film!), as Ivan has found his own way of passing, in the loving arms of Marichka's cold otherworldly ghost.***spoilers finished***It may take a bit of effort to get into, but this is not art for the sake of it, ah-ah.
Even through the language and culture barriers that seemed so overbearing, I was awestruck by the intensity of the movie's emotion, culminating in Ivan's death scene.
The story is not complex – a young Ukrainian peasant (Ivan) falls in love with the daughter of the man who murdered his father, and struggles in an unhappy marriage with different woman after his love dies tragically – but it is by no means easy to watch.
This documentary feel permeates the film – the elaborate costumes, the nearly constant presence of folk music, and the extreme attentiveness to details of ritual and labor have a completely immersive effect – one gets a real sense of the village culture.
However, the beauty and attention to detail, as well as the almost astonishing variety in thematic elements and camera-work, make this film impressive and worth one's time..
Because what Shadows is more than anything else is a snapshot of Ukrainian Hutsul life at some point in time, executed in an immersive way that makes you feel like you are actually there.
The acting isn't the main focus of this film.'Shadows' is a visual feast.
The camera moves wildly, immersing the viewer in a way I have never experienced in a film in my life.
The scene is filmed in such an empathetic way that you can imagine the life they had, at one with nature.
Pretty much every shot is a work of art in this film, framed in a unique way that grants you a new perspective.
We have here, recorded on film, customs and traditions and clothes that would otherwise be forgotten.The use of music is also unique.
But the way Ukrainian folk melodies and sometimes just sounds are placed in the film at first glance seems interspersed and almost random.
Parajanov's Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors is in its entirety an insightful and extremely beautiful portrayal of the backward Ukrainian culture near the Carpathians.
Though the depiction of a culture completely alien to most of us is the chief attraction of the movie, it is also an excellent display of Parajanov's exemplary use of colours and effects and a distinct montage.
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors was a nice film that made for a really unique viewing experience.
The landscape shots that were captured were extremely beautiful and later in the film, the camera did have some of the "running" motion that was seen in The Cranes Are Flying, though this time it was not from the perspective of any character.
Shadows reminded me of a silent film at times with the lack of dialogue and the style of acting that was present, though this is not a knock in anyway, in fact I found it to be quite beautiful.
A tree falling at random and crushing a young man to death appropriately kicks off Sergei Parajanov's Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, a film that episodically tells a story about the unsteady relationship between faith and chance as well as explores and celebrates the ancient culture that inhabited the Ukrainian portion of the Carpathian Mountains.
The young man is the older brother of protagonist Ivan, whose continuous attempts from childhood through adulthood to live the kind of strong, honest Christian life of hard work, true love and marriage his culture fosters are repeatedly beset by occurrences that are equally unfortunate.
This includes authentic portrayals of its dance rituals, work habits and religious ceremonies, made all the more authentic via traditional Ukrainian music as well as production design that highlights the Carpathian region's natural beauty and color.
Parajanov appropriately directs the celebratory scenes with camera work resembling that of Godard, or better yet, Evil Dead-era Sam Raimi, while Ivan's story mostly consists of stark stillness.
From the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die is where I found this Ukrainian film, of course like so many of the other foreign film entries I never heard of it before reading about it, but I hoped it was worthy of that placing, directed by Sergei Parajanov (The Colour of Pomegranates).
Parajanov helpfully tells what he's up to in the epigraph of Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors as he explains that the film is a dramatic poem meant to evoke the old fables of the Carpathians.