Ashik Kerib (1988)

it is not only a beautiful adaptation. another film by a great director. or Paradjanov song of swan. it is a testimony about past. about the grace of fairy tales, about Azer traditions , about the time as a flight, about choices, humor, courage, love, as parts of a single event. a film who remains a gem for the science to remember the flavor of a lost, mythical period. a film who impress. and describe. suggest. and remains touching again and again. a film about a rhythm to live. forgotten, ignored, hidden. subtle. strange. fascinating. and a form to imagine the life. mystical. pure. useful. one of films who could be a meeting with yourself.

Sergei Parajanov's final completed film is based on Mikhail Lermontov's short story about a poor minstrel who must travel for 1,000 days before he is allowed to marry the daughter of the local ruler. Like Parajanov's earlier "Color of Pomegranates", "Ashik Kerib" (which Parajanov dedicated to his friend Andrei Tarkovsky) makes ample use of the visuals and goes long periods without speech. Basically, it tests your attention span; a far cry from Michael Bay's movies.I wouldn't go so far as to call this movie a masterpiece, but I like that it shows us a culture that we don't often get to see. The culture in this case is Azerbaijan. Parajanov had focused on Armenia with "The Color of Pomegranates", and Ukraine and Georgia with other movies. His refusal to incorporate socialist realism into his works caused friction with the Soviet authorities (as did his bisexuality).In the end I recommend "Ashik Kerib". I wonder where Parajanov's career would've gone had he lived longer.

Oh God......I love Alim Qaismov and Mugham music. I've traveled in Armenia and Georgia and fell in love with the Caucasus. I looked forward to seeing this film so much.....oh god!!!! Yes the music is interesting, but the problem is simply this; it looks like a Boy George video...and one made by some guy he met in a pub. I have never, in all my life seen such an inept, appalling and entirely worthless aberration such as this. Really. It's quiet stunning how bad this is. Like a home movie from a transvestite wedding. During the dire extras documentary on Paradjabov, he makes quiet an extraordinary statement; "It is not possible to become a Director, you must be born one. And it is not enough to be born a Director...your mother must be an actress." That makes as much sense as this bag of offal. If there were truth in that, on evidence of this film I'd say the only acting Mrs Paradjanov did so, was telling her son he had talent.

All the film school nerds love to rave about Parajackmeoff's films. Being very interested in film (but not nerdy enough to pay a school to teach me what to like) I decided to give it a try. I thought it would compare with the great East European directors like Kusturica, Tarr and (even though I personally hate him, I admit his movies are challenging) Tarkovsky.Well, no. This movie is closer to Ed Wood's home movies, before he could afford a real camera. It's pointless, artless, lifeless and just plain boring. "Symbolism" is its main draw, according to most confused reviewers. Haha, beware of any movie which is praised for its symbolism alone. That just means that it doesn't mean squat. My toenail is symbolic, do you want to watch a 2-hour movie about it? Next let's talk about the horribly low, low, low budget. And I don't mean "artistically, challengingly low budget" I'm talking "laughably, ridiculously amateurishly low". At one point the guy wants to show a lion but he obviously couldn't even afford a housecat, so he dressed up 2 goons in a lion suit and took the camera 100 yards away. Creative? No, stupid. And the camera itself I believe was made out of a crackerjack box with 2 holes cut in the sides. For film it seems like he used toilet paper.The women in this film are offensively ugly. They're always crying, and they look like they don't have an ounce of brains. If this were an American film, the N.O.W. would be picketing--and I would gladly join them.I can't rate this movie low enough to express my disappointment. If you're stupid enough to rent this movie even after reading the negative reviews, then you deserve to waste 2 hours of your life. At least it'll keep you off the streets.