Tangerines (2013)

In 1992, war rages in Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia. An Estonian man Ivo has decided to stay behind and harvest his crops of tangerines. In a bloody conflict at his door, a wounded man is left behind, and Ivo takes him in.

Director:

Zaza Urushadze

Writers:

Tatjana Mülbeier (idea), Zaza Urushadze (idea)

Stars:

Lembit Ulfsak, Elmo Nüganen, Giorgi Nakashidze

Top Rated Movies #248 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lembit Ulfsak	...	Ivo
Giorgi Nakashidze	...	Ahmed
Misha Meskhi	...	Nika
Elmo Nüganen	...	Margus
Raivo Trass	...	Juhan
Zura Begalishvili	...	Aslan (as Zurab Begalishvili)
Dato Khakhidze	...	Aslan's Soldier (as David Khakhidze)
Jano Izoria	...	Aslan's Soldier
Gia Gogishvili	...	Aslan's Soldier
Vamekh Jangidze	...	Aslan's Soldier
Aleko Begalishvili	...	Aslan's Soldier
Temo Khutsishvili	...	Aslan's Soldier
Giorgi Tsaava	...	Officer (as George Tsaava)
Denis Khlibov	...	Soldier
Victor Gegeshidze	...	Soldier (as Viktor Gegeshidze)

Storyline

War in Georgia, Abkhazia region 1992: local Abkhaz are fighting to break free from Georgia. Estonian village between the mountains has become empty, almost everyone has returned to their homeland, only 2 men have stayed: Ivo and Margus. But Margus will leave as soon as he has harvested his crops of tangerines. In a bloody conflict in their miniature village wounded men are left behind, and Ivo is forced to take them in. But they are from opposite sides of the war. This is touching anti-war story about Estonians who find themselves in the middle of someone else's war. How do they handle it? How do the enemies act under third-party roof?

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Plot Keywords:

1990s | abkhazia | anti war | abkhaz georgian conflict | year 1992 | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film depicts the War in Abkhazia (1992-1993), part of the larger Georgian Civil War (1991-1993). The Abkhazian ethnic group rejected the control of the Georgian government. Their attempt at winning independence was largely supported by Georgia's Armenian and Russian ethnic minorities.

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Goofs

As the movie begins, it is freezing weather and condensation from every breath from Ivo and the soldier inside Ivo's workshop is seen. They step outside and it is not as cold and their breath is not seen.

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Quotes

Juhan: I thought it would explode.
Margus: It explodes in the cinema.
Ivo: Ah, the cinema is one big fraud.

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Connections

Featured in The Oscars (2015)

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Soundtracks

Mandariinid Theme
Written by Niaz Diasamidze
Performed by Niaz Diasamidze

User Reviews

Rare movie gem

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Mandariinid" (2013) is very good movie. Very realistic (well, maybe bonding between two characters was a bit to quick), with beautiful cinematography, very strong acting, tight and simple but very involving script and top notch directing, this is a true movie gem.

The story itself isn't complicated, although the background in which it takes place maybe is not very well know in Western countries. Nevertheless, it is told with simple and universal language.

Overall, "Mandariinid" is not much a war movie - it's antiwar movie in every sense. The isn't much action, but at running time 1 h 22 min this movie is superbly paced, doesn't drag for a second and is very enjoyable for those who like quite but powerful stories.

Details

Country:

Estonia Georgia

Language:

Estonian Russian Georgian

Release Date:

17 April 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tangerines

Filming Locations:

Guria, Republic of Georgia

Box Office

Budget:

EUR650,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,180, 19 April 2015

Gross USA:

$144,501

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,024,132

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allfilm, Georgian Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1