An old Georgian legend has it that a fortress was once built as defence against foes but its walls kept collapsing. According to a prophecy a young warrior would first have to be entombed inside the stonework before the walls would cease to fall. Paradzhanov borrows motifs and figures from the legend and uses them to compose his own tale about the landscape, its inhabitants and their relationship to their rulers. He does so with a filmic language that is highly refined, with sumptuous tableaux and exquisite visual compositions. The film was a Georgian production.
AMBAVI SURAMIS TSIKHITSA / DIE LEGENDE DER SURAM-FESTUNG
An old Georgian legend has it that a fortress was once built as defence against foes but its walls kept collapsing. According to a prophecy a young warrior would first have to be entombed inside the stonework before the walls would cease to fall. Paradzhanov borrows motifs and figures from the legend and uses them to compose his own tale about the landscape, its inhabitants and their relationship to their rulers. He does so with a filmic language that is highly refined, with sumptuous tableaux and exquisite visual compositions. The film was a Georgian production.
