Nané Posted February 13, 2002 Report Share Posted February 13, 2002 Let it be the rebirth of Armenian cinema. For the first time in the history of Armenia and Armenian culture, a film by Armenians and about Armenians is presented to the American Academy of Films and Sciences. During the 74th Annual Academy awards. The Symphony of Silence will compete against the works of leading filmmakers throughout the world in the hopes of garnering the elusive Oscar. Written, directed and produced by Vigen Chaldranian, The Symphony of Silence portrays the painful realities that the nation of Armenia has faced throughout the last decade. It shows how the constant failures of social and economic mechanisms have affected the lives of millions living in Armenia and of those Armenians living outside of Armenia who never stop caring about their motherland. However, this film goes beyond the tribulations of our nation and the people living there. It reveals universal problems—problems that are present always and everywhere. The deepest concern of this film is the shaping of a firm ground of moral virtues within people. It shows the level of humanity and integrity that people should possess towards themselves and others. Symphony of Silence touches profoundly deep layers of mental and psychological strengths that are present in each of us—yet, many of us fail to communicate with ourselves and discover the love we are capable of giving to the world. This film is a wake up call to humans to stretch out our senses and discover the virtues that sleep deep inside of our souls. By providing answers to questions that many of us have been searching for, The Symphony of Silence raises new and deep-seated questions, the answers to which we need to find as we proceed with our lives. The star of the film, Kondi Gjo, played by Michael Pogosyan, discovers the virtue of humanity at a very vital stage of his life. After leading a life of crime, fleeing Armenia to avoid prosecution and nearly escaping death, due to his bad health, Gjo returns to Armenia. Gjo discovers a very different Armenia than the one he had run away from. He sees countrymen that have been reduced to begging and prostitution, while the nation’s most important and profitable industrial units are being sold to other countries. It is then that, at an auction, he purchases a mental institution. He makes a turn around in his life as he considers everything to provide for the well being of the patients at the institution, whose mental and psychological grounds have been fractured under the brutal living conditions present in their country. The American premiere of this film, in the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences, was an absolute triumph. It has begun the competition with works from around the world for the coveted Oscar. After the second screening of the film I had the honor to talk with the creator of the film: Vigen Chaldranian. Due to his dense schedule the director wasn’t available for a face-to-face interview. However, thanks to a close family friend, the talented composer featured in The Symphony of Silence, Gary Kesayan, a phone interview was arranged with Mr. Chaldranian. Usanogh (Karen Harutyunyan): Mr. Chaldranian I would like to ask you about the moral courage that has allowed you to take on such a hard task. Hard in the sense that your story touches and puts us all so close to today’s very painful reality. Vigen Chaldranian: There is no such understanding as a “hard task” for an artist. If as artists we don’t strive for better, more compassionate creations, we need to stop working. As far as this particular film is concerned, there were several other scripts, also written by me, for the title, ‘Symphony of Silence.’ There was and there is a lot to be said. Over the years many ideas had accumulate inside of me and I had to express them through my works, which turned out to be this story. And again, if an artist’s early works are better then his most recent ones, than I don’t regard him as a good artist. U: Do you believe that with your art you can help in the formation of a more just, kinder and healthier society? VC: I cannot do anything by myself. With me are my fellow artists and people who shape the intellectual ground in Armenia. I strongly believe in the bright future of Armenia, and culture is a very important part of our effort to create that future. I am not one of those people who only speak well of Armenia however. I do see much of an improvement in our lives, even though many bad things still remain. Dostoyevsky said that beauty will save the world. Let us discover that beauty in life so we will disregard hate. Let us live harmoniously. Pure, kind, honest art can create that harmony among us, and believe me there have been, there are, and there will always be artists in Armenia that will provide such art for our lives. U: The child-beggar is a very significant character in the film. He sings or makes speeches to earn money since he has not yet been forced to crime—he represents thousands like him. Was he an actual beggar or was it that he simply embodied that class of people so well? VC: Everybody in the film is an actor. Nobody is a real beggar, mentally ill or just a passer by. I am very glad that such questions come up, that proves the success in our efforts to bring everything as close to reality as possible. When one of the leading actresses, Nino Casradze, arrived from Georgia and we went to the mental institution, where the film was shot, Nino said ‘I cannot work in this environment, surrounded by mentally ill people, I feel sorry for them.’ In actuality it was the rest of the cast who had already done much work on developing their characters. That was again another proof that all the talented actors of our film did a tremendous job of establishing their characters. U: Being an Armenian, what are your feelings, as you present a film to the world the cast of which consists of almost entirely Armenians. VC: Only pride. Every work of art represents us in the world. The world knows us by Narekatsi, Komitas, Parajanov, Kachaturyan. We have to stop creating about Armenians for Armenians, we need to create about Armenians but for the world Karen Harutyunyan(copied from usanogh.com) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I hope I am allowed to do this. PS. Saw the film twice - once in Erevan (KinoMoskva) and once more in Glendale (Alex) and can't wait to watch it again. Need I say more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nané Posted April 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 ... and I saw it for a third time about 2 months ago. Am I the only one excited about this movie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vava Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 ... Am I the only one excited about this movie? Wow! Sulamita, this is the first I hear of this movie - and yes, now I'm excited! I'm going to look for a link or something - find out where I can rent/see/purchase a copy. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nané Posted April 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 ... Am I the only one excited about this movie?Wow! Sulamita, this is the first I hear of this movie - and yes, now I'm excited! I'm going to look for a link or something - find out where I can rent/see/purchase a copy. Thanks! Apsooooooooos ... I don't think it's being sold yet. It won an award in Paris recently so they had another showing this January. I assume they will release videos by the end of the year. Can't wait to get a copy. FYI: I loved the movie so much I even managed to find a copy of the original script. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azat Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 Okay, I'll come out and say it. I did not see Symphony of Silence mostly because I have not like the previous works by Vigen Chaldranian. I find his work boring and predictable. And I think Armenians have made him in to a God that he does not deserve to be. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nané Posted April 11, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2003 Okay, I'll come out and say it. I did not see Symphony of Silence mostly because I have not like the previous works by Vigen Chaldranian. I find his work boring and predictable. And I think Armenians have made him in to a God that he does not deserve to be. Sorry. No hard feelings Well, he's not a God (far from it) but in my opinion he's one of the most talented directors we have right now (and we don't have too many, I know). I have loved every single movie I have seen that was made by Chaldranian. I never get bored of watching "Kyrie Eleison" and I would never describe the movie as predictable. Did you see "Dzayn Barbaro" ? That one was a bit long but again, I think it was pretty powerful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeoMins Posted October 10, 2003 Report Share Posted October 10, 2003 FYI: I loved the movie so much I even managed to find a copy of the original script. Did you find the script? I had one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DoJudo Posted August 21, 2004 Report Share Posted August 21, 2004 Great movie. I too wasn't a big fan of Chadranian's previous movies, but this one is good. The quality of the film is good as well, love the english subtitles. It is worth watching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nairi Posted February 14, 2005 Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 I just now watched it on DVD and must say that I really enjoyed it. Especially after watching "Chgrvats Orenq" and "Yerevan Jan" (which was alright for a light movie), I was relieved to see that Armenia still produces good movies and excellent actors.. though have you guys noticed that Armenia seems to have only a handful of actors who reappear in every movie? Btw, is this movie black&white or color? I'm not sure if my DVD was bad or not. I know it's a fake bought in Armenia. Either way, I liked it black and white. It'd be weird to see it in color all of sudden now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armen Posted February 14, 2005 Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 Agree, Simphony is an excellent movie but I would rather assign its worthyness to Micheal Pogossian than to Chaldrian. I view it as a one man show played by Micheal more than anything else. All other actors envlolved in the moive did not manage to free themsleves from the Soviet Armenian school of play of late 80s early 90s (which was oweful). I think Pogossian and some others (a handful like Nairi notices) are the only ones worthy to be filmed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitelotus Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 Absolutely beautiful and amazing is all I have to say about this film. http://gogortilozforum.com/style_emoticons/default/think.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitelotus Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 Oh one more thing. Garik Kesayan kicks ass! http://gogortilozforum.com/style_emoticons/default/cool_icon13.gif Has anyone here in the Los Angeles area or Armenia been to any of his jazz concerts? You should definitely make an effort to attend one if you love jazz, you won't regret it. http://gogortilozforum.com/style_emoticons/default/nov14.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.