The Film Society of Lincoln Center New York

Komitas

The Armenian monk Soghomon Soghomonian (1869-1935), known as Komitas, achieved an international reputation both as a composer and as an expert on Armenian folk and religious music. Yet, in 1915, at the height of his career, the incomprehensible slaughter of the Armenian people by the Turks left him shattered, and he was unable to compose or function for the rest of his life. Don Askarian’s beautiful and deeply moving tribute to this remarkable artist is not a biography but rather a haunting meditation on the relationship between Komitas and the culture and people to whom he had devoted his life. Echoes of Jansco, Tarkovsky and especially Paradjanov can be found, but Askarian blends his influence into a style and a vision that are decidedly his own.

Richard Peña - Program Director