By the Bluest of Seas

Director: Boris Barnet

1936 / 71min / 35mm

A coproduction of Moscow-based Mezhrabpom and Azerbaijani studio Azerfilm, shot on location along the celestial Caspian coast, Barnet’s strangest and most enchanting work tells the fable-like tale of Yussuf and Alyosha, shipwrecked companions vying for the love of Mariya (Yelena Kuzmina at her most radiant), the comely leader of an island kolkhoz named Lights of Communism. A cherished touchstone for Henri Langlois and through him the “Young Turks” of the French New Wave, By the Bluest of Seas contains images—of a sun setting behind crashing waves, of a pearl necklace coming apart in slow motion—as indelible as any in cinema.

35mm print courtesy of Austrian Filmmuseum

Introduction by The Theater of the Matters, film programmer Hannah Yang, and Metrograph Programmer Edo Choi on Saturday, March 21st

One screening only!