A ravishingly beautiful film, not so much a biography of the 18th
century Armenian poet Sayat Nova but a series of tableaux of Armenian
costume, embroidery and religious ritual interspersed with scenes
and verses from the poet's life. This is the most perfect example of
Paradjanov's uniquely painterly approach to film-making; with a
reliance on visual effects and compositions of objects (as opposed to
cinematographic tricks) it provides at least an idea of Armenian
monastic life and the impulses of poetry.
