| The Chronicles of Melanie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Viesturs Kairišs |
| Produced by | Inese Boka-Grūbe Gints Grūbe |
| Starring | Sabine Timoteo |
| Cinematography | Gints Bērziņš |
| Edited by | Jussi Rautaniemi[1] |
| Music by | Arturs Maskats Kārlis Auzāns Aleksandrs Vaicahovskis |
Release dates | |
Running time | 120 minutes[1] |
| Country | Latvia |
| Languages | Latvian Russian |
| Budget | €705,000 |
| Box office | $5,227[3] |
The Chronicles of Melanie (Latvian:Melānijas hronika) is a 2016 Latvianbiographical drama film directed byViesturs Kairišs, starringSabine Timoteo. The film is based on the real life ofMelānija Vanaga.[4] It was produced by Latvia's Mistrus Media and co-produced by the Czech Republic's 8Heads Productions and Finland's Inland Film Company.[1]
Two weeks after its domestic release on November 1 the film was watched by 35,000 people, making it the most-watched Latvian film of 2016.[5]
After theSoviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 Melānija and her son are sent from their home inLatvia to aGulaglabor camp inTyukhtet,Siberia as "socially dangerous criminals" as part of theJune deportation in 1941. For the next 16 years, she retains her will to live by writing letters to her husband Aleksandrs, whose fate she knows nothing about.
The Chronicles of Melanie received the award for best cinematography at the 2016Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.[6][7] It was selected as the Latvian entry for theBest Foreign Language Film at the90th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[8][9][10]
In the 2017 Latvian film festivalLielais KristapsThe Chronicles of Melanie won the award as the Best feature film, while members of thefilm crew received awards as the Best Director, Best Actress, Best Design and Best Costume Design.[11]
Wendy Ide ofScreen Daily described the film as "a potent account of the human cost ofSoviet ethnic cleansing in the Baltic region". She compared it to the 2014 Estonian filmIn the Crosswind, which also is about a woman subjected to theJune deportation, and wrote thatThe Chronicles of Melanie is "less experimental in approach". Ide wrote: "The distorted sound creates a sense of delirium; the painfully slow movements of the malnourished women gives the film a nightmarish quality. Time slows down, both for the exiled Latvian women and also, at times, for the audience. It all amounts to a challenging viewing experience."[12]