āThe Color of Pomegranatesā is most simply described as a series of tableaus that recount the life of the 18th-century poet and troubadour turned monk who was known as Sayat Nova (a Persian sobriquet that means āKing of Songsā). Born, like Parajanov, in Soviet Georgia to Armenian parents, Sayat Nova was enough of a hero to have the 250th anniversary of his birth commemorated in 1962 with a postageĀ stamp.
In āThe Color of Pomegranates,ā Sayat Novaās poems are seen rather than heard. There is some voice-over but little dialogue in an ebb-and-flow soundtrack that alternates wailing folk melodies with choral chanting. The film draws on Sayat Novaās imagery: angels with flat halos and wooden wings, a pasteboard cloud descending as a vision, the constant repetition of key props including books, silver balls and ornate rugs. Fruits seem to bleed and books to weep. Animals, particularly goats and sheep, are ubiquitous. Impassive actors engage in dancelike gestures while staring straight into the camera.
