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The Lighthouse

2006 1h 20m Drama List
Tomatometer 2 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
In the 1990s, Lena (Anna Kapaleva) returns to the home of her grandparents (Olga Yakovleva, Sos Sarkisyan) in a tiny, war-torn village in Armenia. There, Lena begs them to follow her lead and retreat to the safety of Moscow. They are hesitant to leave, however, and as Lena stays to aid them in the rebuilding process, she finds herself slowly but surely being drawn back into the familiarity of the surroundings that she once chose to leave behind.

Critics Reviews

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Rob Aldam Backseat Mafia A poetic and lyrical tale which charts Lena's journey of self-discovery to a tumultuous backdrop. Sep 20, 2021 Full Review CJ Sheu Review Film Review [W]e don't really get a sense of individual character. ... This turns the war ... into a symbol for all the demographic pressures working against rural life May 26, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (5) audience reviews
raphael g The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, masterful. Worth watching it. The movie itself is so-so. I found that it struggled to find the correct tone. It was quite uneven in that aspect. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Uma volta ao lar. A heroína é uma jovem que retorna para sua casa, depois de quatro anos. Lá, ela não encontra nem velhos discos nem fotos de família e sim uma verdadeira tragédia. A vida na sua cidade caucasiana ficou perigosa. Ela quer partir imediatamente e levar seus avôs consigo. Mas sua avó não quer partir e largar sua casa, seu trabalho em uma escola de música e seus pupilos. A heroína não consegue ir embora sozinha - não há mais trens para partir. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Well, that was bleak⦠but this is an Armenian film, so what did I expect! Set in the mist covered village high in the mountains of a war-torn Armenia, it's a semi-autobiographical film from Yerevan born director Maria Saakyan that is both powerful and poetic. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Mike M Displays a bold visual sense, but suffers from the opacity we see in so much Soviet and post-Soviet cinema: a lot of activity without anchoring sense, a tendency to regard its characters as figures in a landscape that's intended to speak for itself, a thick mist further obscuring proceedings... Certainly it flows, and its chaos - its insistent scrambling of past and present, documentary and fiction, pristine and grainy filmstocks - may be exactly that of life during wartime; its textures stay with you, but I'd be darned if I didn't watch it sporting just about the most quizzical of facial expressions. Its final image is of (staged? actual?) all-male formation dancing. Truly, your guess in this instance is as good as mine. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 07/08/11 Full Review Audience Member Maria Saakyan's autobiographical debut is a visual gem, echoing the works of past Russian masters like Tarkovsky and Paradjanov, and these days, something possibly so cold and disheartening can be a soothing feeling. The film takes place during the Caucus wars, with many Armenians having to leave their homes as war breaks out. Although with such a serious subject, the film is not a plot structured device, but more of the flow of people in exodus intertwined with the flow of amazing visuals. It really has to be experienced more than just be seen. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Lighthouse

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the 1990s, Lena (Anna Kapaleva) returns to the home of her grandparents (Olga Yakovleva, Sos Sarkisyan) in a tiny, war-torn village in Armenia. There, Lena begs them to follow her lead and retreat to the safety of Moscow. They are hesitant to leave, however, and as Lena stays to aid them in the rebuilding process, she finds herself slowly but surely being drawn back into the familiarity of the surroundings that she once chose to leave behind.
Director
Mariya Saakyan
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Russian
Runtime
1h 20m