Two young brothers hope to visit their estranged father who lives far away as this beautiful Tajik drama takes them on a picturesque train journey across the rural landscape of little villages and hills.
One of the most significant pictures of the silent era, Eisenstein’s work is a revolutionary film in more ways than one—as fervent a Soviet propagandist piece as any, as well as a trailblazer in pushing montage theories forward.
Tarkovsky’s penultimate feature (stunningly shot in rural Italy during a self-imposed exile) might be his most ponderous work, yet it could also be his sharpest take on faith.
Commissioned by the Soviet state, Eisenstein’s follow-up to his landmark Battleship Potemkin sees his trailblazing theories of montage applied most propagandistically—and to fervent effect—in this high-octane silent film about the October Revolution of 1917.
Still an astonishing debut by Eisenstein, this set the foundation for the Soviet director’s theorising and application of his montage ideas.
One of the most significant works of Georgian cinema, this anti-totalitarian film previously banned by the Soviets deals with its serious themes through a potent mix of acute symbolism and surrealist absurdity.
It gets dull after a while, but the context—a Soviet fabricated show trial ordered by Stalin to frame and prosecute ‘anti-communists’ in the eyes of the public—is still an eye-opening look at character assassination on a national, ideological level, nearly a century ago.
Edited entirely from restored archival footage of Stalin’s state funeral, this is a cinema of profound sadness and a towering achievement from one of the great screen chroniclers of Soviet history.
With wall-to-wall ethnic music and a highly-theatrical style, Parajanov’s last completed feature may be the most accessible of his most well-known folkloric works, best described as an experimental Fellini on steroids.
Told in numerous short vignettes, Parajanov’s late Georgian film retains the exotic, cultural elements that define his work, but occasionally struggles to find a balance between experimentation and storytelling.
Eternality Tan