Achik Kerib, conte d'un poète amoureux

mixture of parable and fairy-tale, expression of Parajanov art, it is naive, seductive and strange. like an Oriental carpet. labyrinth and search of life sense. a love story in old Caucasian traditions, laws and rules. it is not a surprise. only a kind of last will. and a declaration of freedom for a new world. amusing, it is a lesson about a world. precise, it is trip in heart of a manner to understand existence. mystic, it is a speech about passion, sacrifice and ideal. small window to a garden of beauties, it is story of a young man who desires conquer the trust of his girl friend father. so, not the story is real important in this case. but the spell of images. the flavor of delicate and strong spices of a brave art maker.

(1988) Ashug-Karib/ The Lovelorn Minstrel (In Azerbaijani, Georgian and Russian with English subtitles) HISTORICAL FABLE

Adapted from the short story "Ashik Kerib the Lovelorn Minstrel" by Mikhail Lermontov. Known as the final film by renown director Sergei Parajanov, starring Yuri Mgoyan as the title character, Ashug-Karibi a talented poet and minstrel lute player falls in love with the merchant's daughter, Magul-Megeri . Except that because he is poor, Ashik Kerib then asks her to wait for him after 1001 nights. And it is not long before his rival Kushud-Bek fools Ashik Kerib by pretending to be his friend only to stealing his clothes, and then bring them back to show them to his mother and others to make the assumption that he may have drowned. The movie plays like a folklore or as a fable as the talented minstrel player, uses his gift to lift others.

Directed by Sergei Parajanov is perhaps one of the most captivating cinematic experiences one can encounter. Although it lacks the length of a conventional feature film, it compensates with a profoundly rich and mesmerizing visual spectacle. Each frame is meticulously crafted, capturing the essence of an ancient world that feels very distant, presenting a time and place lost to the ages. Its visuals resemble exquisite paintings that evoke the vibrant cultural tapestry. The film's atmosphere draws the viewer into a mystical, dream-like journey, combining folklore and legend in a unique narrative. This is undoubtedly a film that deserves to be seen at least once in a lifetime-a cinematic poem that resonates deeply and lingers in the memory long after the credits roll.

Another odd, exotic fable from the Soviet Union's most enigmatic filmmaker, set this time in a storybook past where, to win the hand of his true love, a penniless minstrel is forced to wander for a thousand days in search of wisdom and enlightenment. Parajanov is one of the leading figures in his country's so-called 'poetic cinema movement', which means his films are crude, heavily stylized rites of passage, thick with symbols and anachronisms. The naive, almost primitive formality recalls both the ancient, ritual folklore of its Central Asian setting and the cheap conventions of early silent film melodrama, with the Georgian voice-over narration (added on top of Parajanov's post-dubbed Azerbaijani dialogue) giving the film an added level of weirdness. On his magical quest the lovelorn troubadour encounters a blind wedding party, a despotic sultan with a toy machine gun toting harem, a pantomime tiger, and survives various other trials and tribulations, all to a nerve-racking background of wailing Middle Eastern music.

This is an excellent movie as far as the artistic and aesthetic dimensions are concerned and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in experiencing the beauty of the Caucasus, or beauty as such. I do not think that there is any need to stress Parajanov's unique depiction of this beauty, after all he is acknowledged (deservedly) as one of the greatest directors of the 20th century. I am not quite sure, however, whether 'Western' audiences will be overwhelmed by Ashik Kerib (by the way 'Ashik' means 'lover', or more accurately, a person who is in love - Kerib corresponds to Turkish 'Garip'= the unfortunate). I showed it to some German friends of mine but they did not seem to be touched by it at all. 'Some' ethnological interest, if not knowledge (and passion) are indispensable. There is only one thing about Parajanov himself which I found irritating. In the documentary which is included in the Rusico edition, Parajanov himself claims to have pursued an ethnological approach in his films - as opposed to the Socialist Realism of his time which he despised so much. But how come that Parajanov says that KURDS are no Muslims when the majority of 90% of Kurds ARE (Sunnite) Muslims when he himself underlines the ethnological aspects of his movies?? How come we have a religious guy who is seen semi-nude (in Islam the exposure of a man's upper part of the body likewise constitutes sin). I did not expect a 100% accuracy watching this movie, and I still prefer it to The Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors and even to Sayat Nova despite its so many flaws (esp. the clothes and customs of the people, surely due to the 'tight budget'). The beautiful language spoken in the film is, of course, NOT Georgian - it's Azeri.