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The Color of Pomegranates

Play trailer Poster for The Color of Pomegranates Released Aug 29, 1968 1h 30m Biography Drama Music Play Trailer Watchlist
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94% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
This avant-garde film depicts the life of revered the 18th-century Armenian poet and musician Sayat-Nova (Vilen Galstyan). Portraying events in the life of the artist from childhood up to his death, the movie addresses in particular his relationships with women, including his muse (Sofiko Chiaureli). The production tells Sayat-Nova's dramatic story by using both his poems and largely still camerawork, creating an impressionistic work.

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The Color of Pomegranates

Critics Reviews

View All (16) Critics Reviews
Pat Graham Chicago Reader It's a strange, visionary work, highly formal and not easy of access, but compelling in a way that's almost impossible to describe. May 21, 2014 Full Review Keith Phipps AV Club Paradjanov scares up one startling sequence after another, crafting a bizarre mosaic of Nova's world while limiting himself to the materials of the poet's time. Jul 25, 2006 Full Review Steve Warren Bay Area Reporter Some once-trendy editing tricks are annoying now, but sound, music, and color are used brilliantly. Mar 29, 2023 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy As a visual exercise, it's a dazzling achievement, filmed in a manner that's almost impossible to describe. Rated: 3.5/4 Aug 29, 2021 Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com The visual tapestry of The Color of Pomegranates, set to the spoken poetry of Sayat-Nova, is what makes it unforgettable as a surrealist anomaly. Rated: 4/5 Aug 25, 2020 Full Review CJ Sheu Critics at Large Everything is highly ritualized and stylized, and keyed to Armenian cultural and political symbolism, but I can't help feeling the sense of liberation that infuses the film. Jun 30, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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David B It isn’t really a film, just a series of very pretty scenes with no real discernible plot. It got old very quickly, after about the fifth scene of people just standing around making strange arm gestures while annoying sounds play in the background. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/26/24 Full Review Audience Member Call me picky but I like to be entertained by films. This isn't film at all, it's just 80 minutes of moving art and it is indescribably boring. Beautiful colour palette though. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review david l The Color of Pomegranates is your typical avant-garde movie that has no story to speak of, no characterization and, worst of all, no themes or anything to say of substance. The opening is intriguing in its use of miniatures and folk and religious elements, but the rest of the movie became repetitive and tedious. The artistry in the cinematography and especially its stupendous production design are undeniable, but the film has nothing else to offer besides its excellent visuals and strong atmosphere. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Not without taking an academic deep dive into Armenian history, culture and superstition, Christian symbolism, the life of national figure poet Sayat-Nova ("King of Songs", 1712-1795), and the sometimes troubled, sometimes mischievous life and times of the film's maker, Sergei Parajanov. Without all of that in tow, sitting through this film amounts to looking at a most ornate, impenetrable motion slide show; one with a deduced narrative built upon a soil of old-world metaphor set to atonal sitar music. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review s r 1001 movies to see before you die. An original film to say the least. Bizarre visuals and a slow narrative really similar this up, but it was worth seeing for its artistic direction. It was on daily motion. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Stellar woven textiles, karpets, nimble greetings and prepossessing blinks moralize Sayat-Nova's tableaus in vibrating alto tootles. Being an ageless subversion of cinema, it's an indecipherably celestial film that keeps on giving no matter how much time you put into it. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Color of Pomegranates

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Movie Info

Synopsis This avant-garde film depicts the life of revered the 18th-century Armenian poet and musician Sayat-Nova (Vilen Galstyan). Portraying events in the life of the artist from childhood up to his death, the movie addresses in particular his relationships with women, including his muse (Sofiko Chiaureli). The production tells Sayat-Nova's dramatic story by using both his poems and largely still camerawork, creating an impressionistic work.
Director
Sergey Paradzhanov
Screenwriter
Sergey Paradzhanov
Distributor
International Film Exchange Ltd.
Genre
Biography, Drama, Music
Original Language
Russian
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 29, 1968, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 3, 2019
Runtime
1h 30m
Sound Mix
Mono
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