Maria Saakyan’s elegiac, semi-autobiographical, humanist drama The Lighthouse unfolds against the backdrop of the Caucasus wars that plagued Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan during the early 1990s.
Told with a dream-like emphasis on vision and sound, this is the story of a young woman, Lena (Anna Kapaleva), who returns to her home in a remote, war-ravaged Armenian village to try and persuade her grandparents to leave with her for safety in Moscow.
With a striking emphasis on the cinematic image and set to an hypnotic soundtrack by Finnish composer Kimmo Pohjonen, Lena’s return to her homeland combines documentary with the great visual tradition of the cinema of Tarkovsky and Paradjanov to become a poetic journey of discovery.
An outstanding directorial debut, and an immensely moving experience, this release features a new and improved English subtitle translation, an all-new digital transfer with restored picture and sound, and is packaged with an extended booklet featuring a new interview with director Maria Saakyan, and new essays by author and poet Sophie Mayer and film and art historian Vigen Galstyan.
Film: The Lighthouse
Release date: 11th April 2011
Certificate: 12
Running time: 75 mins
Director: Maria Saakyan
Starring: Anna Kapaleva, Olga Yakovleva, Sos Sargsyan, Sofiko Chiaureli, Ruzana Avetisyan
Genre: Drama
Studio: Second Run
Format: DVD
Country: Russia/Armenia
DVD Special Features:
• Maria Saakyan’s debut short film Farewell (Proshchanie)
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