Two early short films by Russian auteur Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark) are collected in Elegy of the Land. Both of these moody, melancholic works emphasize the significance of the Russian land to its people on an almost spiritual level. Maria, made in memory of Russian peasant Maria Semionovna Voinova, serves as a requiem for a hard-working woman as well as a lament over the loss of her way of life--after she died, her secrets and work methods died with her. The Last Day of a Rainy Summer, shot in 1978 on a collective farm, captures the daily routines of a community whose lifestyle was fading even as it was being chronicled. In Russian with optional English, French, Spanish, or Italian subtitles.

Alexander Sokurov---USSR---1975-1979---66 mins.

• Facets Video
  Release Date: 06/23/2009