''Ashik Kerib'' (

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

: აშიკ-ქერიბი) ("strange

ashik An ashik ( az, aşıq, ; tr, âşık; fa, عاشیق) or ashugh ( hy, աշուղ; ka, აშუღი) is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as '' hikay ...

") is a 1988 Soviet

art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

directed by

Dodo Abashidze David "Dodo" Abashidze ( ka, დავით ��ოდოაბაშიძე; russian: Дави́д Ива́нович Абаши́дзе; 1 May 1924 – 26 January 1990) was a Soviet Georgian film actor and director. Abashidze, who joined ...

from Georgia and

Sergei Parajanov Sergei Parajanov, ka, სერგო ფარაჯანოვი, uk, Сергій Параджанов (January 9, 1924 – July 20, 1990) was an Armenian filmmaker. Parajanov is regarded by film critics, film historians and filmmakers t ...

from Armenia that is based on the short story of the same name by

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

. It was Parajanov's last completed film and was dedicated to his close friend

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky ( rus, Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐrˈsʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ tɐrˈkofskʲɪj; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Russian filmmaker. Widely considered one of the greates ...

, who had died two years previously. The film also features a detailed portrayal of

Azerbaijani culture Azerbaijani culture may refer to: Regions *Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ( az, Azərbaycan mədəniyyəti) combines a diverse and heterogeneous set of elements which developed under the influence of Turkic, Iranic and Caucas ...

Plot

wants to marry his beloved, but her father opposes since he is poor and he expects rich prospects for his 'daughter from heaven'. She vows to wait for him for a thousand days and nights until he comes back with enough money to impress her father. He sets out on a journey to gain wealth and encounters many difficulties, but with the help of a saintly horseman, he returns to his beloved on the 1001st day and they are able to marry.

Style

The entire story is told in a way of Azerbaijan folklore with music and colour playing a key role. Dialogue is minimal and scripts are used to narrate the plot changes. The director included intentional anachronisms such as the use of

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...

s and a

movie camera A movie camera (also known as a film camera and cine-camera) is a type of photographic camera that rapidly takes a sequence of photographs, either on an image sensor or onto film stock, in order to produce a moving image to project onto a movie s ...

Themes

Parajanov's previous three major films ''

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors ''Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors'', alternatively translated into English as ''Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors'' or ''Shadows of Our Ancestors'' ( uk, Тіні забутих предків, Tini zabutykh predkiv), also known in English under ...

'', ''

The Color of Pomegranates ''The Color of Pomegranates'' is a 1969 Soviet Armenian art film written and directed by Sergei Parajanov. The film is a poetic treatment of the life of 18th-century Armenian poet and troubadour Sayat-Nova. It has appeared in many polls as one of ...

'', ''

The Legend of Suram Fortress ''The Legend of the Suram Fortress'' ( ka, ამბავი სურამის ციხისა) is a 1985 drama film directed by Georgian SSR-born Soviet-Armenian director Sergei Parajanov and Georgian actor Dodo Abashidze. Sergei Parajanov ...

'' were colourful illustrations of Ukrainian, Armenian and Georgian culture respectively. ''Ashik Kerib'' similarly explores traditional

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

i clothes, music, dance, art and customs.

Awards

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

—

Felix Award Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, S ...

: Presented to the artists Georgi Aleksi-Meskhishvili,

Niko Zandukeli Niko may refer to: People The given name is sometimes a short form of Nikola, Nikolas, Nikolaos or others. * Nikō (1253–1314), Japanese Buddhist disciple of Nichiren * Niko (musician), American musician active from 2002 * NiKo (born 1997), B ...

and

Shota Gogolashvili Shota may refer to: * Shota (dance), a traditional dance from Kosovo * Shota (Georgian given name), a Georgian given name * Shōta, a Japanese given name * Shota (wrestler), Japanese professional wrestler * Shotacon, a childlike male character in J ...

. *

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

—

Istanbul International Film Festival The Istanbul Film Festival ( tr, İstanbul Film Festivali) is the first and oldest international film festival in Turkey, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. It is held every year in April in movie theaters in Istanbul, Tu ...

: Special Prize of the Jury (to Sergei Parajanov) *

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

—

Nika Award The Nika Award (sometimes styled NIKA Award) is the main annual national film award in Russia, presented by the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Science, and seen as the national equivalent of the Oscars. History The award was established i ...

: **Best Live-action Film and Best Director (both to Dodo Abashidze & Sergei Parajanov) **Best Cinematography (to Albert Yavuryan) **Best Production Designer (to Sergei Parajanov)

External links

*
DVDBeaver - comparison of DVD versions (Kino Video vs. Ruscico)
Georgian-language films Azerbaijani-language films Soviet-era films from Georgia (country) Soviet-era Azerbaijanian films Films shot in Azerbaijan 1988 drama films 1988 films Mikhail Lermontov Films based on short fiction Films directed by Sergei Parajanov Kartuli Pilmi films {{1980s-USSR-film-stub