Kira Muratova: 2 films (Short Encounters / Long Farewell) (2 Blu-ray)

Short Encounters / Long Farewell

Two films “Brief Encounters” and “Long Farewell” directed by Kira Muratova, once censored, talk about the realities of life of their time with spherical ease. The emphasis on the films' female, often eccentric protagonists and the cinematic devices used by Muratova make the films timeless and an important part of film history.
Kira Muratova was one of the most famous, but also one of the most controversial directors of the Soviet Union. Influenced by the many political and social upheavals and upheavals of her time, she created a work that has been called "perhaps one of the world's most distinctive and unique pieces of cinematic design." Muratova, who repeatedly offended censors with her bold and unconventional productions, was able to work freely only after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Her 1971 tragicomedy The Long Farewell, in which she experimented with a fragmented narrative style, collage editing and innovative use of sound, was banned for a long time and even cost the then head of a film studio in Odessa. his job. Her first independent film, Brief Encounters, quickly disappeared from theaters after its January 1968 premiere because censorship authorities classified it as “anti-Soviet.” Only almost 20 years later, this and other films of the courageous Ukrainian director, which were kept under lock and key, were also shown in the Western world. Muratova herself can be seen in her only acting role as Valentina in Brief Encounters.