Three Lives: Parts 1 & 2 (Ivan Perestiani; USSR, 1924)

(Sami sitsotskhle/Tri zhizni). Different in tone from Little Red Devils but similar in its directorial approach, Perestiani’s Three Lives was improvised, adapted without a script from Giorgi Tsereteli’s classic novel. Distinctive location shooting, inspired compositions, and beautiful use of natural light lend an atmospheric, almost documentary quality to many scenes in this narrative that is set in late nineteenth-century Georgia. The film’s strong cast includes Nato Vachnadze in an early role as Esma, a poor tailor woman. Vachnadze was the real-life mother of Eldar and Giorgi Shengelaia and one of the screen legends of Soviet Georgia.

• Based on a novel by Giorgi Tsereteli. Photographed by A. Digmelov. With Mikheil Gelovani, Dimitri Kipiani, Nato Vachnadze. (approx. 150 mins plus 5 mins intermission, Silent with Russian intertitles and simultaneous English translation, B&W, 35mm, BAM/PFA Collection)