Preceded by short: TheSeasons (Arthur (Artavazd) Peleshian, Armenia, 1975). (Vremena goda/TarvaYeghanaknere). Winter in Armenia: shepherds slide perilously down a snow-coveredmountain, one after the other, cradling their fleecy charges. A kind of chivalryinhabits The Seasons, a breathtaking depiction of the hardships and vigor ofrural life, set, not incongruously, to Vivaldi. It is one of the cinematic poemsof Arthur Peleshian, a master of montage who is a true descendant of Vertov andEisenstein (and contemporary of Bruce Conner). Yet his "distancemontage," the counterpoint over time of images and sounds, effects rhythmsand moods his predecessors never attempted. !nbsp;Photographed by M. Vartanov.Edited by Peleshian. (30 mins, no dialogue, B&W, 35mm, PFA Collection) Pastorale, Ioseliani's lyrical and eccentric portrait ofrural Georgian life, hangs on a slim narrative thread having to do with the visitof a string quartet to a remote village, the encounter between town and country.The film's subtext is a bold look at the conditions of women in the village.Albert Johnson writes: "The determination to convey Georgian life in themost truthful manner possible is indicated with cinematicunderstatement°.Pastorale is very much a tone-poem. Ioseliani's sharp perceptionsare constantly aimed toward sardonic juxtapositions°to establish those wistfulironies of human behavior that exist when cultural patterns coexist behindinvisible barriers°.The village is not at all cozy-cute, but unflinchinglygrubby; the mud, poverty, insouciant pigs, goats and chickens, plus the eternalouthouse, are just there--the labor, too, for the women do everything withoutmodern conveniences."