Set in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi in 1992. Friends Eka and Natia look to leave childhood behind as they ignore societal customs and work to escape their turbulent family lives.
A young refugee and his mother flee war and ethnic cleansing in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, leaving his father behind. After arriving in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, the ... See full summary »
In a patriarchal society, an ordinary Georgian family lives with three generations under one roof. All are shocked when 52-year-old Manana decides to move out from her parents' home and ... See full summary »
Directors:
Nana Ekvtimishvili,
Simon Groß
Stars:
Ia Shugliashvili,
Merab Ninidze,
Berta Khapava
A group of teenage boys from Tbilisi take a trip to Azerbaijan to buy drugs, and end up fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh War, when they are captured by Azerbaijani militants, with one ... See full summary »
The Sun of the Sleepless. The film is about a doctor named Gela Bendeliani (Elgudzha Burduli) and his wealthless family in Tbilisi in Soviet Georgia. In the film Gela Bendeliani has an unlimited capacity for generosity and forgiveness.
Director:
Temur Babluani
Stars:
Elguja Burduli,
David Kazishvili,
Lia Babluani
Gogliko has just served 16 years in jail. Upon his release, he realizes that the world as he knew it doesn't exist any more, and the people who set him up are now government officials.
In the pursuit of happiness orphan Ertaoz left for city, where he fell in love with pretty Margalita and went to jail to save her. There he met his future teacher Qristepore who dreamed of building flying machine and they broke the prison.
Director:
Eldar Shengelaia
Stars:
Vasili Chkhaidze,
Dato Jgenti,
Ariadna Shengelaia
Giorgi leaves his country in search of a job and settles down in France. He doesn't loose hope that one day he will return to his homeland, his "roots".
An author - a passive young man - enters the Soviet-controlled bureaucracy of Georgia attempting to get his novel published only to be neglected and compartmentalized at every turn.
Grandma Olgha up-brings orphan Zurikela in poverty. Their struggle for life is being relieved by support of their kind neighbors, Iliko and Ilarion, whose merit is the exceptional sense of humor.
Fortysomething Sandro still lives at home with his parents. He and his best friend seem to have no luck at finding true love during their misadventures of meeting and date various women.
Director:
Levan Koguashvili
Stars:
Andro Sakvarelidze,
Ia Sukhitashvili,
Archil Kikodze
Set in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi in 1992. Friends Eka and Natia look to leave childhood behind as they ignore societal customs and work to escape their turbulent family lives.
I don't believe I've ever seen a Georgian film before watching In Bloom, but it was a great place to start and I'll certainly be looking more into Georgian cinema.
Like many coming of age stories the film focuses on two young teenage girls, but unlike most typical American or European films, the background for this film involves a country that has recently overcome one violent coup and is in the middle of a civil war. Screenwriter and co-director Nana Ekvtimishvili handles these details with lovely subtlety never making them feel heavy handed or overt. The camera- work for the film is also a knock out. The cinematographer, Oleg Mutu, is the same one responsible for the Romanian masterpiece 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, and he flawlessly employs the steady hand and long takes he used in that movie to great effect here. There is a beautiful 5 minute scene that is a one shot take of one of the girls dancing and it is the perfect meld of technical camera-work and physical performance.
I would be remiss of course not to mention the acting of the two lead girls who are simply fantastic. And while they are both strong actresses, it's Lika Babluani, in a much quieter performance, who is devastating. She has a face made for cinema and she can carry those long takes and fill them up with her presence without feeling laboured or strained.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
I don't believe I've ever seen a Georgian film before watching In Bloom, but it was a great place to start and I'll certainly be looking more into Georgian cinema.
Like many coming of age stories the film focuses on two young teenage girls, but unlike most typical American or European films, the background for this film involves a country that has recently overcome one violent coup and is in the middle of a civil war. Screenwriter and co-director Nana Ekvtimishvili handles these details with lovely subtlety never making them feel heavy handed or overt. The camera- work for the film is also a knock out. The cinematographer, Oleg Mutu, is the same one responsible for the Romanian masterpiece 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, and he flawlessly employs the steady hand and long takes he used in that movie to great effect here. There is a beautiful 5 minute scene that is a one shot take of one of the girls dancing and it is the perfect meld of technical camera-work and physical performance.
I would be remiss of course not to mention the acting of the two lead girls who are simply fantastic. And while they are both strong actresses, it's Lika Babluani, in a much quieter performance, who is devastating. She has a face made for cinema and she can carry those long takes and fill them up with her presence without feeling laboured or strained.