Namus (1926)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Amo Bek-Nazaryan

Writers:

Alexander Shirvanzade (novel)
Amo Bek-Nazaryan (writer)

Release Date:

3 October 1926 (Soviet Union)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Young lovers Seyran and Susan meet a tragic fate because of patriarchal prejudices of their parents...

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Love | Earthquake | Murder | Lie

Cast

Hovhannes Abelyan	...	Barkhudar
Hasmik Agopyan	...	Mariam (as Hasmik)
O. Maisuryan	...	Gyulnaz
Hrachia Nersisyan	...	Rustam
Avet Avetisyan	...	Hayrapet
Nina Manucharyan	...	Shpanik
Samvel Mkrtchyan	...	Seyran
M. Shahubatyan-Tatieva	...	Susan
Hambartsum Khachanyan	...	Badal
L. Aleksanyan	...	Susambar
G. Melikyan	...	Sanam
Amasi Martirosyan	...	Smbat
M. Garagash	...	Storekeeper
Husik Muradyan	...	Child dancer

Runtime:

62 min | Germany:85 min (restored version)

Country:

Soviet Union

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Armenkino

Trivia:

This was the second Armenian-made feature film. The first was the now almost forgotten Pod vlast ju kurdov (1915) (known in Europe alternatively as "The Tragedy of Turkish Armenia" or "Under The Kurds"), written and directed by A. Minervin, an Armenian living in Russia.

A glimpse of a strange world

I won't say this is a good film. By international standards of 1926 it is clumsy, the camera is very static, the acting is quite wooden and the timing is not very effective. But nevertheless this film is interesting in what it depicts: The world of Armenia at the beginning of the 20th century. The story seems to be melodramatic: After an earthquake two surviving families promise to marry their children when they are old enough. Instead of what you might expect these two are very much in love, so much that they meet secretly although custom forbids any meeting before the marriage. The father of the girl is enraged and fears for his "honor", so he marries the girl to a rich merchant instead of her true love. The rejected lover becomes quite mad and hints to the merchant that he has already slept with his wife. Now the "honor" of the merchant is at stake... Despite the melodramatic plot outline this is told rather matter-of-factly, interspersed with a lot of scenes of everyday life (baking bread, using leeches for medical purposes etc.). So even if it is very difficult to relate emotionally to these strange people and their weird customs you get a glimpse into a world that is quite remote from ours.