‘THE RETURN OF THE POET’: THE NEW VICTORY OF ARMENIAN CINEMA
By Ruzan Zakarian, Media-7 Cultural Center
Yerkir.am
March 24, 2006
Before the screening in Yerevan, Harutyun Khachatrian’s film “The
Return of the Poet” first appeared on the screen at the International
Film Festival in Rotterdam. It was then presented at the film
festival in Tehran. The film attracted the attention of critics and
art workers alike.
The film received positive comments in European press and internet
publications. It was announced one of the best three films screened
at the Rotterdam Festival.
The author of the film, Harutyun Khachatrian has already received
invitations to present his film and lecture at a number of
international festivals. The cinema centers in the Netherlands and
Japan have organized a retrospective screening of the works of four
Armenian film directors – S. Parajanov, A. Peleshian, A. Egoyan and
H. Khachatrian.
In the third millennium when the intolerance towards cultural monuments
leads to violence, when destruction of cultural monuments leads to
wars, when inter-religion cultural relations are becoming war fronts,
the success of Harutyun Khachatrian’s film means a victory in this
conflict.
“The Return of the Poet” is about someone who carries the wisdom of
the nation, who is a poet, a philosopher, a gussan. This film tells
about Jivani. It’s a film that asks questions so relevant for our
times, and the author tries to find answers traveling with Jivani.
The director of the film simply watches how Jivani’s statue created
in Yerevan is transported to Javakhq, the poet’s place of birth. And
the travel from Yerevan to Javakhq is not merely travel. It is a
saga about Armenia. It reveals to what extent Jivani’s songs have
been preserved and how up-to-date they sound.
The film shows that the people have kept in their hearts Jivani’s
simple melodic songs that came from his heart. Jivani’s songs flow
as the life itself. And this is why people have always listened to
his songs and continue listening to them.
Khachatrian takes up another line in his film: the road that takes
from Yerevan to Javakhq, the road by which Jivani’s statue is
transported, passes through Armenian cities, town and villages. The
director manages to tell about the hard lives people live in these
places. He draws parallels between the past and present making you
think about the constant and temporary values, about the national
identity thus creating a portrait of Armenia, a collective portrait
of the Armenian nation.