Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965)

 Sergei Parajanov's "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors"


While some of the dramatic intrigue of Sergei Parajanov's "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" is limited, the visual rollercoaster ride the film takes is nothing short of spectacular. Released in 1965, Parajanov's memorable film doesn't limit itself creatively in any way. Rather, its openness with its visual concepts and camerawork elevate the story to something other-worldly. 

"Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" centers on Ivan, a young Ukrainian man living in a small village in the Carpathian Mountains. He falls in love with Marichka, the daughter of the man who killed his father. Despite the families being bitter enemies, Ivan and Marichka are prepared to marry. However, after Marichka dies in a river, Ivan despondently despairs through life, even with the marriage to his new wife Palahna. After she betrays him, he is struck in the head and hallucinates Marichka in the forest before collapsing and dying.

What Parajanov does so well, amidst the wild experimentation with his camera, is make the viewer feel as though this story is both an abstraction and imminently present. The level of obscurity in concrete, tactile events leaves the viewer feeling a sense of fantasy - like they are watching a dreamscape. However, Parajanov films these wistful events as a contemporary filmmaker with a camera phone. The effect is almost proto-Malickian. He operates with a handheld camera, allowing it to venture around his subjects in completely dimensional environment. It makes the viewer feel as though they are there - present with the subjects. 

"Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" feels like it completely reinvents the wheel and demonstrates the level of freeness that a camera can operate. Its story is about an lost ancestor of the Ukrainian mountains. Its told as if it were some forgotten dream or memory, but shot as if the viewer were a deity fully engulfing them. While some of its plot points didn't draw much interest from me, the style, the tone, and the experimentation with the camera make it an unforgettable experience.



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