Repentance (1984)

Varlam, the despotic mayor of a small town, dies. After his funeral, his body is repeatedly unearthed and buried again. Through flashbacks and dreamlike scenes, we witness his rise, power and ambiguities.

Director:

Tengiz Abuladze

Writers:

Tengiz Abuladze, Nana Janelidze

Stars:

Avtandil Makharadze, Zeinab Botsvadze, Ia Ninidze

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 12 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Avtandil Makharadze	...	Varlam Aravidze / Abel Aravidze
Ia Ninidze	...	Guliko (as Iya Ninidze)
Zeinab Botsvadze	...	Ketevan Barateli
Ketevan Abuladze	...	Nino Barateli
David Giorgobiani	...	Sandro Barateli (as Edisher Giorgobiani)
Kakhi Kavsadze	...	Mikheil Koresheli
Merab Ninidze	...	Tornike
Nino Zakariadze	...	Elene Korisheli (as Nino Zaqariadze)
Nano Ochigava	...	Ketevan as a child
Boris Tsipuria
Akaki Khidasheli
Leo Antadze	...	(as Levan Antadze)
Rezo Esadze
Mzia Makhviladze	...	(as M. Makhazadze)
Amiran Amiranashvili

Storyline

The day after the funeral of Varlam Aravidze, the mayor of a small Georgian town, his corpse turns up in his son's garden and is secretly reburied. But the corpse keeps returning, and the police eventually capture a local woman, who is accused of digging it up. She says that Varlam should never be laid to rest because he was responsible for a Stalin-like reign of terror that led to the disappearance of many of her friends...

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Plot Keywords:

totalitarianism | funeral | forced labor camp | anti soviet | stalinism | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tengiz Abuladze started to think about the film in the early 1970s. A near-fatal car accident in the early 1980s then convinced Tengiz Abuladze to start shooting the film. He was encouraged by Eduard Shevardnadze who at that time was the first secretary of the Georgian Communist Party and who offered a special and uncensored slot on Georgian television for the film. During the shooting of the film the actor Gega Kobakhidze was arrested for being involved in the hijacking of Aeroflot Flight 6833. Production was temporarily halted, and was resumed several months later with Merab Ninidze replacing Kobakhidze.

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Goofs

After Varlam's corpse has been reburied the second time, an iron cage is placed over his grave to protect it from further intrusion. But as the perpetrator starts to exhume him for the third time, there is no cage.

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Quotes

Ketevan Barateli: On behalf of everyone who was unjustly punished, I demand that Varlam Aravidze be dug up from his grave by his own relatives.
Guliko: I protest! All you've heard here is a lie and slander!
Ketevan Barateli: Slander? Prove that it's a slander!
Prosecutor: You mean that the deceased should not be buried?
Ketevan Barateli: No, you must not bury him! Let the carrion crows tear him to pieces! Burying him means forgiving him, shutting our eyes to everything he had perpetrated. I publicly declare once again: If you don't dig him up, I will get him, I will not ...

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Fight the Power: Protest in Film (2011)

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Soundtracks

Sabre Dance
Composed by Aram Khachaturyan

User Reviews

It takes a very careful watching to truly understand all of the symbols of the film.

This film was absolute genius and, in my opinion, one of the best films produced in the 20th century. It is on par with films like the Seventh Seal and Schindler's List in terms of symbolism and philosophy. The only way one can not like this film is if one does not understand it- which is quite possible, if one is only haphazardly watching it and is not fully engaged, or is expecting the film to chew up the messages for you and give you something simple you can quickly take away without actually appreciating the movie- then this is the wrong film for you. In order to properly appreciate this film you have to engage in higher philosophical thought and reflect both on the lives of individuals of the Stalinist era as well as your own era, since this movie is timeless. It explores human nature at its basest level, and what causes humans to act in the ways they do.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Georgian Russian Italian German

Release Date:

18 May 1987 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Repentance

Box Office

Gross USA:

$215,496

Company Credits

Production Co:

Georgian-Film, Gosteleradio USSR, Qartuli Telepilmi

Technical Specs

Runtime:

153 min 142 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1