Namus (film)

Namus (Armenian: Նամուս, meaning "honor") is a 1925 silent drama film by Hamo Beknazarian,[1] based on Alexander Shirvanzade's 1885 novel of the same name,[2] which denounces the despotic rites and customs of Caucasian families.[3][4][5] It is widely recognized as the first Armenian feature film.[6][7][8]

Namus
A scene from the film
Directed byHamo Beknazarian
Based onNamus
by Alexander Shirvanzade
StarringHovhannes Abelian
Hasmik
CinematographySergei Zabozlayev
Production
companies
Armenfilm
Sakhkinmretsvi
Release dates
  • 13 April 1926 (1926-04-13) (Yerevan)
  • 3 October 1926 (1926-10-03) (Moscow)
Running time
62 minutes
CountrySoviet Union
LanguageArmenian (1960s voiced version)
Russian poster of Namus in Leningrad, 1926
2005 restored version poster

History

Background

The Armenfilm studio was founded two years later, on 16 April 1923 as the State Cinema Organisation.[9] Hamo Beknazarian, who was an actor prior to the 1917 Revolution, became actively involved in directing films after the Bolsheviks took over.[10] Namus became his first notable work as a director.

Production and reaction

Namus was first premiered in Yerevan's Nairi Theatre on 13 April 1926.[11] On 3 October of the same year, the film was presented in Moscow.[12] A poster in Leningrad in 1926 called Namus the "biggest blockbuster of the season".[13] When asked about the film, Hamo Beknazarian said "I wanted to set the power of custom in the pillory, that stupid force of the concept of "father's honor".[11] The film had incredible success and brought Beknazarian to fame in the Soviet Union, which helped him in his later works, making him the founder of Armenian cinematography.[7]

Restoration

The first attempt to restore the film was made in the 1960s, when it was voiced.[11] In 2005 Namus was digitally restored by Franco-German network Arte.[11][13][14] This version was first shown in Cinéma Le Balzac in Paris in November 2005[13] and then in Moscow Cinema in Yerevan in April 2010.[11]

Plot

The story is set in the Caucasian city of Shemakhi, which was a provincial town in pre-revolutionary Russia. The love story involves Seyran, a son of a potter, who secretly meets with Susan, to whom he is engaged. The Armenian customs didn't tolerate this and strictly prohibited such behavior. When a neighbor catches them during one of their secret meetings, rumors of their actions spread around the neighborhood and her family decides to marry her to another man, in order to restore the family's honor. They choose Rustam, a rich merchant, for Susan to marry. Seyran slanders Susan by saying that he owns her. Rustam kills Susan, considered himself disgraced by Seyran's actions. At the end, Seyran commits suicide upon hearing about his lover's death.[12]

Cast

See also

References
  1. Cowe, S. Peter (2000). Parlakian, Nishan (ed.). Modern Armenian drama : an anthology. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 131. ISBN 9780231116305.
  2. Cowe, 2000; Introduction
  3. Lawton, Anna (1992). The Red Screen: Politics, Society, Art in Soviet Cinema. London: Psychology Press. p. 310. ISBN 9780415078191.
  4. "Namus". Yerevan International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  5. Hovannisian, Richard G., ed. (2004). The Armenian people from ancient to modern times (1. paperback ed.). New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. p. 357. ISBN 9781403964229.
  6. Rosenfeld, Alla, ed. (1999). Defining Russian graphic arts: from Diaghilev to Stalin, 1898-1934. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers Univ. Press. p. 154. ISBN 9780813526041.
  7. Karoghlanian, Armen. "From the Vault: The Birth of Culture in Namus". Yerevan Magazine. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  8. Jay Leyda (1960). Kino: A History of the Russian and Soviet Film. George Allen & Unwin. p. 190.
  9. Rollberg, Peter (2008). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 56–59. ISBN 978-0-8108-6072-8.
  10. Taylor, Richard, ed. (2000). The BFI companion to Eastern European and Russian cinema (Repr. ed.). London: British Film Inst. p. 30. ISBN 9780851707525.
  11. Eghiazaryan, Artavazd (4 April 2010). ""Намус" – в кинотеатрe "Москва"" (in Russian). Yerevan.ru. Archived from the original on 27 August 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  12. Намус (in Russian). kino-teatr.ru. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  13. "Նամուս". Պահպանենք "Մոսկվա" կինոթատրոնի ամառային դահլիճը (in Armenian). Ankakh. 23 April 2010. Archived from the original on 30 June 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  14. "Namous" (in German). Arte. 12 September 2005. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
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