During the years of Soviet occupation, the imagery of the sea in Lithuanian documentary films was used to create narratives on collective work, industrialisation and “socialist progress”. The expansion of the port of Klaipėda, fishing in distant seas and search for new maritime routes formed a mindset that progress is inseparable from the Soviet system. Abundance of maritime sketches was a characteristic feature of a former cameraman at the front, Georgijus Chnkojanas, whose film “In the Atlantic Ocean” (1954) narrated about the first Lithuanian herring fishing expedition and daily routine of seamen. A similar ideological worldview was also revealed by Leonardas Tautrimas’s film “Seagulls Looking for the Sea” (1963) depicting the voyage following seagulls from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea and rendering the belief in the bright future and man’s ability to conquer the sea. However, part of directors ignored the censorship and sought for their unique style. A directorial debut of Algirdas Araminas, “I Am Rambynas” (1964), shows a dramatic rescue operation in a stormy sea where people faced a raging element of nature. One of the most open Lithuanian documentary films of the Soviet period, “Seasickness” (1980) by Robertas Verba, talks about a crisis in the relationship between Captain Eimutis and his wife Edita. Long-term separations and loneliness become a core theme of the film, and the Arctic ice symbolises the fracturing family ties. Rimantas Oičenka’s film “Voyage” (2022) based on archive footage filmed by Laimutis Janutėnas in 1975 re-considers the experiences of Soviet seamen anew. Daily routes across the Baltic Sea and the North Sea interweave with hopes of a better life, and long-distance voyages express not only the entering into the wide world, but also emotional challenges. 

Quotes

“Leaden greyness of the sea in the film appears interchangeably as a contrast to the scenes of “Rambynas” ship’s cabins filled with harsh, dramatic electric light. A. Araminas has flawlessly filmed the sketch, excelling in terms of the cameraman’s technique in his best works in artistic cinematography.” (Saulius Macaitis. “The Harvest of the Documentary-Makers” (in Lithuanian ‘Dokumentalistų derlius’) In: “Literatūra ir menas”, 11.07.1964, No. 28.)

“Across the Baltic Sea, the North Sea towards the Bay of Biscay, there lies the route of the crew of a ship called “Nemunėlis”. Yes, the sea in the film is a job that will help Laimutis earn good money and buy a fridge, improve his domestic life. It is also a job that tests the feelings, as it has separated the newly-weds for a long period of time.” (Rasa Paukštytė. “The Place to Spend Holidays. Or Maybe to Live? Fragments of the Seaside in Lithuanian Films” (in Lithuanian ‘Vieta atostogauti ir filosofuoti. O gyventi? Pajūrio fragmentai lietuviškame kine’). In: “Literatūra ir menas”, 07.06.2024, No. 11 (3793).)