Mikhail Vartanov: Parajanov: The Last Spring
This documentary from 1992 tells about Sergei Parajanov (1924-1990), considered to be one of the masters of cinema, far too little known compared to his importance as it is said on the website
that honours him, brings quotes about his greatness from Fellini, Godard and the one that could be said to resemble him in film language, also a master: Andrey Tarkovsky.
The film by Vartanov is a breathtaking hommage to Parajanov, who due to his long emprisonment during the Soviet times ended up having a consequent limited filmography, complemented by an extensive collection of paintings, drawings and collages. In most of the film the camera puts the focus on the beautiful old man with the white beard, he moves badly, he is completely introvert, he is moving towards the end of his life. Contrary to how he was, as shows the archive material from his shootings and the clips from his films firmly grounded in Armenian reality and culture and poetry. The film is chaptered with long sequences without words, only image and music. Pure beauty.
I have never seen a film by Parajanov… I want to do so in the near future. His films are available on Amazon, and for Danish readers – go to Laserdisken and iMusic.
