The Eternal Light

Lithuanian countryside in the 1950s. People live with mixed memories of an independent Lithuania, no one believes in the myths of a future Soviet Lithuania, but everyone clings tenaciously, out of inner inertia, to the opportunities offered by even the smallest personal farm. This is a film that subtly tells the story of love and the beginnings of a peaceful life in the countryside: the surveyor is tormented by Pranė, who has fallen in love with him unrequitedly, Amilia, who has fallen in love with Zigmas, but is married to the surveyor, Anicetas, the village philosopher, Bernasius, knows it all: if there is an eternal darkness, there is also an eternal light...

Directed by Algimantas Puipa, The Eternal Light leans on a strong ensemble — Vidas Petkevičius, Kostas Smoriginas, Virginija Kelmelyte — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1989.