There’s something so ethereal about the films of Sergei Parajanov, a filmmaker whose work defined a particular era of Soviet storytelling, one that was both celebratory of the history of the culture, but critical of the socio-political zeitgeist, even if it wasn’t very clear in the films themselves. His most celebrated work is The Color of Pomegranates, a lush experimental voyage into Armenian culture. One of his earlier films trods similar narrative territory in terms of its social and cultural milieu, the extraordinary historical drama Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Тіні забутих предків or Tini zabutykh predkiv), a daring odyssey into an archaic Ukrainian culture at a particular moment in time that is as fascinating as it is enthralling. Featuring many of Parajanov’s most distinctive qualities – beautiful imagery developed from a keen sense of visual style, gorgeous design that replicates the particular time and place in which the film is occurring with enormous accuracy, and a story that exceeds the boundaries of simply being a period piece and flourishes into a complex social drama, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is a truly extraordinary work, hailing from a filmmaker whose deft ability to venture into various aspects of Soviet history, whether directly or through mere proxy (as is the case here) is unprecedented, and more than establishes Parajanov as one of world cinema’s most important artists, whose deft ability to combine beautiful style and experimental storytelling set him apart from many of his contemporaries, who often worked at a far more direct level. While broadly known for one work in particular (which has rightly been hailed as a masterpiece of European cinema), it is clear that Parajanov was capable of far more than just lush visuals and non-conforming narratives, as is evident in this film. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is a masterful blend of history and art, woven together by an artist whose intentions, while not always clear at the outset, were undoubtedly admirable, resulting in one of the most enduring works of fiction produced during this era, and a potent piece of historical fiction that transcends all boundaries.

Set in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is the story of the Hutsul people, a partially nomadic group who reside in mountainous villages, living a simple life defined by strong traditional values and a strict adherence to their religious beliefs. One of the inhabitants is Ivan (Ivan Mykolaichuk), a young manual labourer who has been with his wife, Marichka (Larisa Kadochnikova) since childhood, despite that fact that her father murdered his, and brought his family into a state of despair – for him, this signified a new chapter. The lives of Ivan and Marichka are wonderfully simple – they belong to a community that upholds their intricate traditions and allow it to guide their lives, and their existence is only dependent on the strength of the harvest and the efficiency of the hunts, which give them the chance to live ordinary lives. However, tragedy befalls the community when Marichka dies in an unfortunate accident, which sets Ivan off into a spiral of depression, forcing him to become despondent and reclusive, mourning the untimely death of his young wife. However, he slowly manages to work his way out of this slump with the arrival of Palagna (Tatyana Bestayeva), another young woman who captures his heart, and who beguiles him into overcoming his tragic past and embracing hope once again. Their relationship eventually flourishes into a marriage and Ivan sees himself return to some form of normalcy – however, the memories of the past continue to haunt him, and his fragile mental state begins to fall apart as a result of his inability to process the numerous emotions that come with a traumatic experience. As a result, his new wife begins to seek solace from outside their cultural group, finding herself descending into less-favourable pastimes, dabbling in sorcery as a way of overcoming the challenges she faces with a husband who struggles to let go of his past.

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is a film that works best when we consider it something of a capsule of culture. Several of Parajanov’s films took this approach, whereby a simple premise was employed as a means of exploring the customs and traditions of a particular culture. Adapting a classical Ukrainian text by Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky, the director works alongside his artistic collaborators to create a very simple, but extraordinarily fascinating film about a group that has rarely, if ever, been represented on film. Set during the backdrop of a changing time (the particular temporal moment in which Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors takes place isn’t very clear, but it appears to be in the late 19th century, around the time of the novel’s publication), the film ventures into the history of a region and the cultures that existed there at the time, but were gradually becoming thinner as people took the step towards the growing cities. Its a film about a small group of people desperately holding onto the traditions that remain, and Parajanov attempting to portray these struggles in a way that feels honest. It isn’t surprising that Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is one of the most revered Soviet films ever made – despite not being set during the Soviet era, it is still a powerful testament to the cultures that existed throughout the region, with one in particular being the focus. One of the director’s most distinctive qualities, other than his gorgeous visual prowess, was his ability to infuse commentary into films like this without making them overwrought or overly complicated. Lesser filmmakers would use a film like Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors as a means of imbuing subversive anachronistic commentary, almost as if they are saying “look how simple life used to be” – and instead, Parajanov takes a more interesting approach, showing the machinations of a society that may be more simple in form, but were no less interesting and complex, in both social structure and inner psychological quandaries, which is the extent to which this film goes in portraying their lives.

The simplicity is ultimately what defines Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors the most – told from the perspective of an ordinary individual, who possesses no discernible traits of heroism, and is nothing more than a regular villager whose life just so happened to be the focus of the story, the film is built from the perspective of being a snapshot of a culture, with Parajanov going to great lengths to build an earnest representation of the culture the story explores. This results in a film that is most significant for its authenticity – and it doesn’t even take someone with a working knowledge of the traditions of 19th century Ukrainian pastoral villagers to realize how accurate this film is, mainly since there is an unprecedented amount of detail put into the film. The experience of watching Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is quite remarkable, especially through the delicate story concealed beneath gorgeous imagery – oscillating between a gorgeously surreal love story, and an austere, realist drama (mainly demonstrated through the alternating scenes set in colour, in which the dazzling visuals border on intentionally overwhelming, and those in black-and-white, where everything takes on an otherworldly appearance), as a means of conveying the deep meanings embedded in an otherwise simple film. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is a descriptive film – the narrative itself is not all that consequential, and while the love stories at the core of the film are certainly compelling, what truly drives the film is its dedication to capturing the spirit of a time and place. Parajanov’s films always seem to be seeking some kind of historical significance, almost as if the director was trying to commit these images to the screen so that the culture they represent would not be lost in time. There’s something truly admirable about a film that finds the significance in something real and lends it credence through introducing these customs to a global audience, one of the many reasons Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is a true masterpiece.

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is a truly wonderful film. Its magnificent story, a generation-spanning social odyssey set in the most gorgeous locations in Eastern Europe, is secondary only to the beautiful intentions, derived from the brilliant mind of Sergei Parajanov, a filmmaker whose artistry is truly unprecedented. His visionary style and ability to make sense of even the most challenging of concepts allows him to compose one of the most incredible works of Soviet filmmaker produced at the time, a quietly rebellious story that appears to be a simple love story on the surface, but gradually unveils itself to be a poetic ode to a group of people who have not been afforded the exposure this film provides them and their culture. It’s a simple but effective work of cinema, carefully-constructed by a director whose intentions to adapt Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky’s novel allowed him the chance to look into an underexplored culture and provide an earnest representation of their existence, and ultimately give social context to a story that is far more detailed than it would appear on the surface. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is a film that sees the director employing his gorgeous visual style, working with the source material in a way that creates a fascinating surreal drama with touches of romance, mythology and psychological horror, creating a poignant, powerful work of art that is unwavering and provocative in both form and content, and utterly unforgettable in every way.