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Elegy of the Land
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Directed by Alexander Sokurov
USSR 1977-88 / Documentary / 66 min / Color / Black & White / Dolby 2.0 / 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / NTSC / In Russian with Optional English, French, Spanish and Italian Subtitles |
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| ELEGY OF THE LAND contains two shorts
by Alexander Sokurov about the significance of the land to Russia,
where it has an almost spiritual meaning. Both films are embued with
the director’s signature moody melancholy. "Maria," made
in memory of Russian peasant Maria Semionovna Voinova, serves as not
only a requiem for a hard-working woman but also for a way of life.
Maria grew flax, and after her death, her secrets and methods of working
in the fields were lost. "The Last Day of a Rainy Summer"
was shot in 1978 on a Russian collective farm called a kolkhoze, which
was responsible for supplying agricultural products for other parts
of the country. "Last Day" captures the daily routines of
this farming community, a lifestyle fading even as it was being chronicled.
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