Poem of the Sea

“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).

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