The Dreams of Centenarians
The characters of Verba’s film are at least one hundred years old; they were born in the 19th century and live in ancient spaces. They share their memories in front of the camera; they speak about their youth, romantic relationships and the hardships they have survived. They shed tears, celebrate birthdays with many beloved family members, and even become entangled in some comical situations. Verba juxtaposes images of younger faces near the wrinkled centenarians, silently highlighting the flow of time and the connection between different generations.
Robertas Verba was a pioneer of Lithuanian poetic documentary, a chronicler of Lithuanian national revival, a director, cameraman and scriptwriter. He made over thirty documentaries and filmed hundreds of videos chronicling that historic period. He graduated from the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography as a cameraman. According to film critic Živilė Pipinytė, the films he made in 1965–1970 “shaped the genetic fund of Lithuanian documentary film – its stylistic features, the taste for metaphoric image as well as minimalism of a means of expression”.