Kira Muratova

Her films are currently the subject of a touring retrospective that is presently at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Jane Taubman, Professor of Russian at Amherst College, author of "Kira Muratova" (I.B. Tauris, 2005), the first comprehensive study of Kira Muratova's work, provided the film notes to the MFA's programme.

So far, I've only had time to see "Chekhovian Motifs" (bizarrely listed on the marquee as "Chekhov's Motives" ???) and
"The Asthenic Syndrome". Both were fun although, the subject matter of the latter film is arguably more serious and demanding. I'd first heard of Kira Muratova via Jonathan Rosenbaum's review of "The Asthenic Syndrome" in his book "Essentia Cinema: On the Necessity of Film Canons" (Johns Hopkins UP, 2004). "Chekhovian Motifs" was very Felliniesque in many respects, Ms. Muratova has a very lively and noisy sense of humor. Her films are extrordinarily modern, she uses unusual vocal techniques and sound mixes to achieve humor through overlapping and layered dialogue. I encourage anyone with a taste for true contemporary cinema to search for her works.