The Legend of the Suram Fortress

Ambavi Suramis tsikhitsa | ამბავი სურამის ციხისა

Sergei Parajanov Dodo Abashidze, Soviet Union, 1985

83 mins

7.8 / 10 (1411)

Drama History

Synopsis

Based on a Caucasus Mountains legend that tells of the repeated efforts of the Georgian people to construct a fortress against invaders. The fortress continues to collapse until a fortune-teller recalls a prophecy: a handsome young man must be walled inside alive in order for the building to stand.

MUBI's take

One of cinema’s masters, Sergei Parajanov (The Color of Pomegranates) offers another idiosyncratic and surreal (re)vision of a folk-tale in this award-winning film. His inventive aesthetic and his visionary storytelling techniques are dazzling and mesmerizing–they will stay with you forever.