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every ‘The Colour of Pomegranates’ reference in ‘911’ by Lady Gaga
every ‘The Colour of Pomegranates’ reference in ‘911’ by Lady Gaga
The Colour of Pomegranates (1969) was written and directed by Sergei Parajanov and is an abstract life story of an Armenian poet and musician Sayat-Nova. Parajanov was imprisoned on ‘charges of homosexuality’ and the film wasn’t allowed to be released abroad for several years.
the film went against the linear narrative structure of the soviet cinema of the time and was seen as revolutionary. It follows the life of the poet from childhood and into the afterlife, including cultural references and artefacts and key locations in the poets life.
In 911, Gaga is on the brink of death and envisions the environment around her in a beautifully abstract, nonsensical way, where she’s greeted by death and guided through to her sacrifice
(imo) this could represent her not taking her antipsychotic meds, which causes a mental breakdown (the car crash) and she sees the pain she’s unintentionally caused herself and people around her. She - the poet - wakes up from the fantasy she’s created to cope
both have dresses that symbolise death (notice the gold chicken thing in the 2nd)
notice everyone pointing fingers at ‘the poet’ and the similarities in the composition
the ‘young poet’ and his lover are both played by Sofiko Chiaureli, notice the white gloves and jewellery
their hand gestures and mannerisms are also similar although 911 has a more ‘gaga’ twist with the red nails on top of her gloves
also the dolls spinning in the background
the seashell, in 911 right next to the shot of gaga grabbing her boobs 
for everyone who was wondering about the peacock and also the balls in water and hanging around in some shots - they appear frequently throughout the movie
this scene alone is packed with references, notice the people in the back and the way they move the things they’re holding (not sure what they are exactly )
which is similar to the way the nurse moves the mirror to shine it in Gaga’s face
there’s also a series of closeups of wall drawings in both, and the composition of the movie shots is structured in a way that makes it easier to convert into a drawing like this
some other details (the black background only happens in one shot for both and contrasts the others)
don’t take any of this info as completely factual btw it’s just my interpretations of things plus like 3 articles I bothered to read
some cool shots from the movie just for fun like the composition of each frame is so interesting they could all be stand alone pieces
the floating sequence is from 8 1/2 (1963) about a film director at the peak of his career who needs a break but everyone keeps bothering him so he starts fantasising
according to letterboxd lmao I started it but wasn’t bothered to finish cause it’s all in italian so idk what happens
stream!
