Film: The Lighthouse
Year of production: 2006
UK Release date: 11th April 2011
Studio: Second Run
Certificate: 12
Running time: 75 mins
Director: Maria Saakyan
Starring: Anna Kapaleva, Olga Yakovleva, Sos Sargsyan, Sofiko Chiaureli, Ruzana Avetisyan
Genre: Drama
Format: DVD
Country of production: Russia/Armenia
Language: Russian
Director Maria Saakyan's first feature film, The Lighthouse is a semi-autobiographical tale which unfolds against the backdrop of the Causicus Wars of the early 1990s. With its powerful themes and art house feel, it proved a huge success at the London Film Festival in 2007 and finally gets its long overdue UK release.
The Lighthouse tells the tale of a young woman named Lena (Anna Kapuleva) who returns to her hometown in order to evacuate her grandparents. However, upon her arrival, she soon finds that her grandparents are less than willing to leave the home they have long cherished. With the train she arrived on no longer in service, Lena finds herself caught up in a conflict she little understands (nor cares to understand).
Although her decision to return home seems to have been driven by more than the ongoing war; Lena grapples with memories of her childhood and longs to revisit the town she remembers so fondly. Caught amidst the absurdity of war, Lena, her family and her neighbours do all that is possible to continue living a normal life. Although, with food stocks running low and the horrors of war ever present, they find the prospect of living a normal life to be increasingly unattainable…
The Lighthouse has ‘art house cinema’ written all over it. With dialogue in very limited supply, the film relies solely on visuals to convey its story. The film tells a story which is equally horrifying as it is nostalgic; nostalgic for a past that seems almost like a dream, amidst the horrors of war. Clearly, its story is one which can only be told with the utmost subtlety and, hence, is perfectly suited to styles of art house cinema.
Some may merely discard the film's style as pretentious drivel, with its countless shots of misty hills and poetic overtones. In some cases, such style is employed to cover up a shallow script or two dimensional characters (after all, one character staring into space, looking rather intense, does not make for a good film), but in the case of The Lighthouse, this style offers a subtle approach to some relatively unexplored themes.
Given the film's focus of visuals, one's connection with its characters is rather surprising. The film conveys the effects of war upon an isolated community without the need for a complex plot of any kind. Instead, the camera remains focused upon the faces of people who want no part in the war which threatens to engulf their isolated town. With such subtlety, many of the film's scenes are open to interpretation and encourage a range of emotional responses. Even those scenes with dialogue throw up more questions than they answer. For example, in one scene Lena talks in a way that suggests she may be pregnant. Although, this is only briefly alluded to and no more comes of this brief discussion.
With so much emphasis on characters and the effects of war upon members of the community, convincing performances are of vital importance. Thankfully, impressive performances are in abundance. Not least from the film's main character, Lena. As a city girl and an outsider, Lena feels particularly out of place in this war torn environment. Her emotional performance clearly illustrates this. In one particular scene, bombs explode nearby as Lena lies in bed. She desperately scrambles for a shotgun, clutching it to her chest as flames illuminate the night sky. As Lena trembles, tears rolling down her cheeks and clutching a shotgun for protection, the film's message could not be clearer: those caught up in such conflicts are often innocent bystanders who merely wish to live their life in peace. The collateral and emotional damage of war is most felt by those who have no interest in it.
However, whilst the film's subtle style works to its credit, its lack of decisiveness is somewhat of an irritation. Beyond depicting the effects of war on ordinary citizens, which it deserves much credit for, it never seems to make a decisive point. In fact, every scene is shrouded in uncertainty. But, that said, the film's short runtime of 78 minutes almost justifies this indecisiveness. At such a length, it stands as a piece of cinematic poetry which seeks to depict the emotional toll war takes on a community, rather than make any sort of statement.
At heart, The Lighthouse is an anti-war film which seeks to stress the importance of community. With its poetic style, the film leaves an indelible mark on its viewer and is an impressive piece of art house cinema. Some may find its indecisiveness irritable and its visual style pretentious, but it will surely be warmly welcomed by those who appreciate unconventional, artistic films. The Lighthouse is a striking reminder of what a beautiful art film can be. ME
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