Farewell (1983 film)

The village of Matyora, located on a small island of the same name, faces imminent flooding due to the construction of a hydroelectric dam. The villagers have long been informed of their relocation to a new settlement, but the elderly residents hold out, reluctant to leave their ancestral home. The task of overseeing the move is given to Pavel Pinigine, a longtime resident who finds the duty painful, while his supervisor, Vorontsov, sees the project as a necessary sacrifice for the greater good: the construction of a new hydroelectric dam and the towns that will develop around it.

A team arrives on the island to dismantle the village, cutting down ancient trees, burning abandoned homes, and removing cemetery crosses to prepare the land for flooding. The destruction of their world horrifies the elders, especially Darya, Pavel’s mother, who is determined to preserve her parents’ graves. Her grandson initially helps with the relocation but eventually leaves, troubled by the impact of his actions. As rains fall and the flooding timeline is moved up, families reluctantly burn their own homes before departing, leaving behind only a few elderly women, an old man named Bogodul, and a boy, Kolya. On the eve of her departure, Darya tenderly cleans her home, decorates it with flowers, and watches it burn. The remaining villagers gather in the last standing shed as officials approach the mist-shrouded island at dawn, only to find it elusive in the fog, as if Matyora has already sunk. The final shot of the film shows Matyora’s ancient tree, lush and untouched, symbolizing the enduring spirit of the land despite the loss of the village.

• Stefaniya Stanyuta as old Darya
• Lev Durov as Pavel Pinegin
• Aleksei Petrenko as Vorontsov
• Leonid Kryuk as Petrukha
• Vadim Yakovenko as Andrei Pinegin
• Yuri Katin-Yartsev as Bogodul
• Denis Luppov as Kolyana

While scouting locations in June 1979 for her planned adaptation of the ecological fable, original director Larisa Shepitko died in a car accident along with four members of her shooting team. After a delay the project was finally completed in 1981 by her widower Elem Klimov and although shelved for a further two years, was eventually given a limited release in the Soviet Union in 1983. Originally chosen to open the 1984 Berlin Film Festival, it was initially refused an export licence until three years later when it was screened in Berlin. Its release in 1986 aligns it with the new policy of Glasnost under Mikhail Gorbachev's term, which questions both bureaucracy and technological progress.^[3] As head of the Union of Cinematographers, Klimov was also responsible for the release of many other banned or shelved films in this era.^[3]