The Legend of Suram Fortress

Codirected by Dodo Abashidze and Sergei Parajanov, this film is based on a Caucasus Mountains legend that tells of the repeated efforts of the Georgian people to construct a fortress against invaders. The fortress continues to collapse until a fortune teller recalls a fateful prophecy. The story, at once simple and marvelous (in the literal sense), unfolds in a circular rather than linear manner, and its mythic possibilities are realized wondrously in the film’s visuals. It is exquisite in the manner of a painted miniature, with the jewel-like colors and decor of a medieval illuminated manuscript.