Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964)

Original title

Тіні забутих предків

Directed by

Sergei Parajanov

Genre

drama film, romance film, art film

Country

Soviet Union

Runtime

1h 35m

Rated

TP

Rating

7.5 of 10 from 184 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

In the Carpathian mountains, a young Hutsul man and woman fall in love despite a long-standing feud between their families. Their story plays out against a backdrop of vivid folk traditions, music, and stunning natural landscapes.

operaticlyricalvisually lushtragicfolkloricintensedreamlikeatmospheric

What happens

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, alternatively translated into English as Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors or Shadows of Our Ancestors (Ukrainian: «Тіні забутих предків», romanized: Tini zabutykh predkiv, pronounced [ˈt⁽ʲ⁾in⁽ʲ⁾i zɐˈbutɪx ˈprɛdkiu̯]), also known in English under the alternative title Wild Horses of Fire and under the mistaken title of In the Shadow of the Past, is a 1965 Soviet-era Ukrainian film directed by Sergei Parajanov. Based on the 1911 novel Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors by Ukrainian author Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky, it tells a "Romeo and Juliet tale" of young Ukrainian Hutsul lovers trapped on opposite sides of a Carpathian family blood feud. The film was Parajanov's first major work and earned him international acclaim for its rich use of costume and colour. The festival program from the 1966 edition of the New York Film Festival described the film as an "avant-garde, extravagant, sumptuous saga" and a "haunting work" that combined folk-songs and atonal music with fantastic camera work. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is considered to be the most internationally heralded Ukrainian film in history, and a classic of Ukrainian magical realist cinema. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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