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Time Out
April 29, 2011
DVD - The Lighthouse
FILM Cert: 12
by David Jenkins
Not all new films that play in film festivals go on to receive wider
releases, and there are inevitably going to be a clutch of leftfield
gems that are consigned to the back pages of modern cinema history.
Maria Saakyan's 2006 debut, 'The Lighthouse', is one such gem that's
been deservedly rescued from obscurity, a breathtaking, expressionist
chronicle of a shy young woman's efforts to retrieve her grandparents
from a rural Armenian warzone. Offering a consummately crafted vision
of a world gone seriously awry which favours mood and texture over a
linear narrative, comparisons with the otherworldly dramas of Andrei
Tarkovsky are inevitable. Saakyan's knack for constructing beautifully
surreal compositions from mundane activities such as washing and
singing is second to none, while the cavalcade of striking, austere
imagery works in perfect unison with the throbbing soundtrack from
composer Kimmo Pohjonen. With the inclusion of Saakyan's short
'Farewell' (2004), this is a real lost treasure that's been unearthed
with great dilligence and passion.
From: A. Papazian
April 29, 2011
DVD - The Lighthouse
FILM Cert: 12
by David Jenkins
Not all new films that play in film festivals go on to receive wider
releases, and there are inevitably going to be a clutch of leftfield
gems that are consigned to the back pages of modern cinema history.
Maria Saakyan's 2006 debut, 'The Lighthouse', is one such gem that's
been deservedly rescued from obscurity, a breathtaking, expressionist
chronicle of a shy young woman's efforts to retrieve her grandparents
from a rural Armenian warzone. Offering a consummately crafted vision
of a world gone seriously awry which favours mood and texture over a
linear narrative, comparisons with the otherworldly dramas of Andrei
Tarkovsky are inevitable. Saakyan's knack for constructing beautifully
surreal compositions from mundane activities such as washing and
singing is second to none, while the cavalcade of striking, austere
imagery works in perfect unison with the throbbing soundtrack from
composer Kimmo Pohjonen. With the inclusion of Saakyan's short
'Farewell' (2004), this is a real lost treasure that's been unearthed
with great dilligence and passion.
From: A. Papazian