• Poem of the Sea
  • Poem of the Sea

Poem of the Sea

(Poeme o more)

featuring

Boris Livanov, Boris Andreyev, Yevgeni Bondarenko,

“A Ukrainian village is about to be submerged under a ‘new sea,’ whose purpose is to power a hydroelectric plant and combat drought. In this euphonious and poetic film, director Yuliya Solntseva weaves themes of memory, transformation, and modernity. As a Soviet work of magical realism, [Poem of the Sea] oscillates between the fantastical and political.” (Museum of the Moving Image). Working from a script by Oleksandr Dovzhenko, “Solntseva proclaimed after her husband’s death: ‘I must complete [Poem of the Sea] in accordance with Dovzhenko’s artistic conception, putting aside every trace of my own individual vision.’ Elsewhere, she claimed that, ‘If Dovzhenko had lived, I would never have become a director; all that I do is considered as a defense and illustration of Dovzhenko.’ Solntseva was more than just an invisible hand supporting her husband’s legacy and work. Dovzhenko may have envisioned them, but it was Solntseva who executed these delirious and delectable pastoral poems” (Tanner Tafelski, The Calvert Journal).

Event Accessibility

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FILM DETAILS 
Screenwriter
  • Oleksandr Dovzhenko
Cinematographer
  • Gavril Yegiazarov
Language
  • Russian
  • with English subtitles
Print Info
  • Color
  • DCP
  • 108 mins
Source
  • Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Center
Preceded By

Extract from The Golden Gates
(Zolotie vokota)

Yuliya Solntseva, USSR, 1970

Made from fragments of Oleksandr Dovzhenko’s films and diaries. “Golden shavings from the great man’s desk; an angel’s-eye view of . . . Dovzhenko” (Gilbert Adair).

FILM DETAILS 
Language
  • Russian
  • with English electronic titling
Print Info
  • B&W/Color
  • 35mm
  • 20 mins
source
  • BAMPFA