Ashik Kerib (film)

Infobox Film
name = Ashik Kerib


image_size =
caption = original Russian film poster
director = Sergei Parajanov Dodo Abashidze (co-director)
producer =
writer = Gia Badridze Mikhail Lermontov (story)
narrator =
starring = Yuri Mgoyan Sofiko Chiaureli Ramaz Chkhikvadze Konstantin Stepankov
music = Dzhavanshir Kuliyev
cinematography = Albert Yavuryan
editing =
distributor =
released = 1988
runtime = 73 min
country = USSR (Georgian SSR)
language = Georgian/Azeri
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0094681

"Ashik Kerib" (Geo. აშიკი ქერიბი, _ru. Ашик-кериб, Azerbaijani: Aşıq Qərib) is a 1988 film by the Soviet-Armenian filmmaker Sergei Parajanov based on the short story of the same name by Mikhail Lermontov. It was Parajanov's last completed film and was dedicated to his close friend Andrei Tarkovsky, who had died two years previously.

Plot

The Ashik Kerib wants to marry his beloved, But her father opposes since Kerib 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 starts the journey to gain wealth and goes through a lot of difficulties, But he is able to come back to his beloved with the help of a saint horseman on the 1001 day since he left and able to marry his love.

Style

The entire story is told in a way of Azerbaijan Folklore with music and colour plays an important role. Dialogues are very little and scripts are used to narrate the plot changes.

Themes

Parajanov's previous three major films were colourful illustrations of Ukrainian, Armenian and Georgian culture. "Ashik Kerib", in turn, is a colourful illustration of Azerbaijanian clothes, music, dance, art and customs.

Awards

*1988—Felix Award: presented to the artists Gogi Aleqsi-Meskhishvili, Niko Zandukeli and Shota Gogolashvili.
*1989—Istanbul International Film Festival: Special Prize of the Jury (to Sergei Parajanov)
*1990—Nika Award:
**Best Live-action Film and Best Director (both to Dodo Abashidze & Sergei Parajanov)
**Best Cinematography (to Albert Yavuryan)
**Best Production Designer (to Sergei Parajanov)

DVD

There are two main DVD versions of the film - one released by Kino Video (which also contains Parajanov's previous film, "The Legend of Suram Fortress"), and one released by Ruscico. The Ruscico DVD is not as widely available but has been found by DVD reviewers to have a much better-quality presentation of the film.

External links

*imdb title|id=0094681
* [http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/ashik.htm DVDBeaver - comparison of DVD versions (Kino Video vs. Ruscico)]
* [http://www.parajanov.com/ashikkerib.html "Ashik Kerib" at Parajanov.com]