‘Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors’: The movie Robert Eggers was “completely conquered” by
It sounds entirely oxymoronic at first glance, especially for a filmmaker who only has four features under their belt, but a Robert Eggers movie is both predictable and unpredictable at the same time, in what’s intended as a complement to his distinctive style.
His movies are always tied deeply to the folklore and mythology of their respective locations and time periods, aided by historical accuracy and a keen eye for authenticity. As a result, from the folk horror of The Witch to the vampiric tendencies of Nosferatu via the psychological trappings of The Lighthouse and the bruising ferocity of The Northman, his work is perpetually grounded in realism while existing in a slightly heightened version of reality.
It’s an approach that’s worked wonders so far, and beyond his well-known adoration of Nosferatu that saw him persevere with his reimagining despite facing numerous obstacles over the course of almost a decade, another one of his personal favourite features offers an insight into how he began crafting what would eventually become his unmistakable aesthetic.
Sergei Parajanov’s Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is one of the most celebrated Ukrainian films of all time and a milestone in magical realism. Ivan Mikolaichuk’s Ivan and Larisa Kadochnikova’s Marichka are childhood sweethearts and neighbours who maintain their closeness throughout their lives despite their families being divided by the fact her father murdered his.
Determined to get married, whatever the cost, Ivan leaves his hometown to earn himself the requisite dowry to take her hand, but he finds himself constantly cursed by tragedy. It’s got striking visuals, lavish backdrops, a period setting, and a merging of realism and fantasy, all of which has been prevalent in Eggers’ oeuvre since the very beginning.
That being said, he wasn’t quite at a point where he’d completely fawn over every aspect of its construction, but he nonetheless explained to Rotten Tomatoes why he holds it so dearly. He may not “always love Parajanov’s roaming camera in this movie,” but Eggers finds that his “love for the folk culture is quite infectious,” a recurring motif in his own back catalogue.
“He makes this Hutsul culture come alive, and it’s so exotic. Now I know a lot about Carpathian culture and Slavic folklore so the movie doesn’t have a lot of mystery to me anymore,” he continued. “But the first time I saw these images that I couldn’t understand, I was completely conquered because he so clearly understood them, they were infused with some kind of meaning that just felt essential to me.”
Folk culture, isolated societies with their own rules, regulations, and myths, a sense of rural mystery, and haunting imagery are all key parts of Eggers’ own playbook, with the influence of Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors having been made abundantly clear by the filmmaker’s own quartet.
