Review of Ashik Kerib (1988) by Martin T — 15 Aug 2010

Paradjanov constructs images like no one else. His exquisitely designed frames are like nothing else I've seen, the closest I can think of is Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain. In this film, he once again provides stunning visuals rich with symbolism and tableaus unlike any other in cinema.

And the music is fantastic, too. On a purely aesthetic level, it's a dynamite movie. But alas, there's more to it than that. The story starts out fine, a kind of "Arabian nights" fairy tale, but it loses traction in the middle and seems to go nowhere.

This draggy section makes the film feel awfully long (when it's only 75 minutes). Also, the actors employ a style of highly exagerrated miming with voice-over. In a story like this, some degree of "over-acting" is expected and even appropriate, but this was frequently annoying.

Fascinating in some ways, most notably the captivating images, but hard to recommend.