The Color of Pomegranates (1969)
★★ — The Color of Pomegranates (1969)
Sergei Parajanov had already made a significant impression with Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965) before turning to this portrait of the 18th-century Armenian poet and troubadour Sayat-Nova, produced at the Armenia Film Studio under the Soviet system. The film arrived during a period when Parajanov was pushing hard against the constraints of socialist realism, and the authorities noticed: the original cut was suppressed, and the version most widely seen today was re-edited by fellow Georgian filmmaker Mikhail Kalatozishvili without Parajanov's involvement. Parajanov himself would be imprisoned in 1973, ostensibly on other charges, and spent years in Soviet detention. Sofiko Chiaureli, one of Georgia's most celebrated stage and screen actresses, plays multiple roles across the film's non-linear structure.
The Colour of Pomegranates (1969), Sergei Parajanov's much-lauded Soviet Armenian arthouse film, is the kind of movie that wins rapturous praise from cinephiles and leaves the some of us checking our watches. Presented as a series of painterly tableaux loosely inspired by the life of 18th-century poet Sayat-Nova, it abandons narrative, dialogue, and conventional pacing entirely in favor of static, highly stylized images: people posing with fruit, slow-motion fabric unfurling, symbolic gestures repeated like religious ritual. Visually, sure, it's striking. Every frame looks like a Renaissance painting come to life, meticulously composed and drenched in saturated color. But without story, character, or emotional momentum, it becomes a museum exhibit you're forced to sit through for 75 minutes. The pacing is awfully slow, the symbolism opaque to the point of alienation, and the overall effect less transcendent than tedious. What some call "poetic," others (like me) experience as pretentious self-indulgence, art made for other artists to admire, not for the general watcher to connect with. It doesn't lack technical craft, but because as a film to watch, it's inert, inaccessible, and profoundly boring (to me). I respect that it's a landmark of experimental cinema. I just don't have to enjoy sitting through it. Some movies are important. That doesn't mean they're good to actually watch. This one isn't.
Rating: ★★ | Year: 1969 | Watched: 2026-03-11
Where to watch (US)
Stream: Criterion Channel · Eternal Family
Rent: Amazon Video · Google Play Movies · YouTube · Fandango At Home
Buy: Amazon Video · Google Play Movies · YouTube · Fandango At Home
Physical: Amazon UK
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Where to watch (US)
Stream: Criterion Channel · Eternal Family
Rent: Amazon Video · Google Play Movies · YouTube · Fandango At Home
Buy: Amazon Video · Google Play Movies · YouTube · Fandango At Home
Physical: Amazon UK
Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.
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