I finally caught up with this film, as it jumped from art house to art house, looking for an audience. It was worth the wait and the effort.
The opening scene is worth the price of admission!
The contradictions of the Georgian culture are well exposed and developed from the get-go. Such a clan of boorish men, verbally abusive towards their women (which seems to be taken for granted by all), uniting with their women, to go through the charade of finding a virgin for their son who doesn't want one! That's not to say that these men hold the values of virginity or fidelity in high esteem, beyond the ritual of the fishing expedition, with the resultant wedding and....of course....the future grand-SON. No mention of grand-daughters here.
If the complexity of the Georgian way of life was well developed, the reality of cultural and social life in Tel Aviv was not...the entire burden of representing Tel Avivian culture was put on the shoulders of Zaza and Judith to carry...and that burden was too heavy, given that their characters weren't more deeply developed.
It was "Zaza and Judith's Behavior" versus "Centuries of Georgian Ways". An exposition of Tel Aviv's bursting energy and the complexity of its social mores would have served the film well. That would have given much more depth to the film's focus on Zaza and Judith.
I liked the simplicity of the cinematography; it was realistic and it worked well; though I regret the director's choice to tightly focus on minimal sets and settings. Where was Tel Aviv? The film could have been made in Mexico or in the south of France. It needed more context... geographic and cultural.
Once again, the burden of "being" Tel Aviv was carried by Zaza, who didn't come close to convincing me that he was pursuing a doctorate in philosophy. Surely, the move from Georgia to Tel Aviv had more impact on who Zaza was than his sexual values. It would have added a lot to the film to give Zaza more complexity.
Apart from these relatively minor criticisms, I was engrossed by the film and left the theater feeling its impact. It's a film I'd strongly recommend to a friend.
SPOILER AHEAD: ======================================================> To conclude, I'd like to comment on "the love scene" and on the ending of the film.
I liked the playfulness of the scene. These folks were INVOLVED with one another! The single element of the love scene that went beyond all that has come before it, to the best of my knowledge, is that bodily fluids were portrayed and their presence was addressed by the lovers. This takes the portrayal of love-making a step beyond what has come before it. The scene was a bit flawed by the false note that rang in the apparant spontaneity of their love-making. We still haven't gotten beyond the "strategically arranged bedsheet" stage of depicting sex in films.
The ending was a powerhouse for me; it had a great impact. I didn't know what it was till I was walking out of the theater. I felt the sting of Judith's words: "You love them more than you love me." In the wedding scene, the truth of her words was borne out...and this drama became tragedy when Zaza's behavior at the wedding banquet fore-shadowed a future in which he would become like the other men in his family. Very powerful!
And so, I think the opening and closing scenes were worth the price of admission, and there was a lot to be involved with in between.
Hats Off! to the director.
The opening scene is worth the price of admission!
The contradictions of the Georgian culture are well exposed and developed from the get-go. Such a clan of boorish men, verbally abusive towards their women (which seems to be taken for granted by all), uniting with their women, to go through the charade of finding a virgin for their son who doesn't want one! That's not to say that these men hold the values of virginity or fidelity in high esteem, beyond the ritual of the fishing expedition, with the resultant wedding and....of course....the future grand-SON. No mention of grand-daughters here.
If the complexity of the Georgian way of life was well developed, the reality of cultural and social life in Tel Aviv was not...the entire burden of representing Tel Avivian culture was put on the shoulders of Zaza and Judith to carry...and that burden was too heavy, given that their characters weren't more deeply developed.
It was "Zaza and Judith's Behavior" versus "Centuries of Georgian Ways". An exposition of Tel Aviv's bursting energy and the complexity of its social mores would have served the film well. That would have given much more depth to the film's focus on Zaza and Judith.
I liked the simplicity of the cinematography; it was realistic and it worked well; though I regret the director's choice to tightly focus on minimal sets and settings. Where was Tel Aviv? The film could have been made in Mexico or in the south of France. It needed more context... geographic and cultural.
Once again, the burden of "being" Tel Aviv was carried by Zaza, who didn't come close to convincing me that he was pursuing a doctorate in philosophy. Surely, the move from Georgia to Tel Aviv had more impact on who Zaza was than his sexual values. It would have added a lot to the film to give Zaza more complexity.
Apart from these relatively minor criticisms, I was engrossed by the film and left the theater feeling its impact. It's a film I'd strongly recommend to a friend.
SPOILER AHEAD: ======================================================> To conclude, I'd like to comment on "the love scene" and on the ending of the film.
I liked the playfulness of the scene. These folks were INVOLVED with one another! The single element of the love scene that went beyond all that has come before it, to the best of my knowledge, is that bodily fluids were portrayed and their presence was addressed by the lovers. This takes the portrayal of love-making a step beyond what has come before it. The scene was a bit flawed by the false note that rang in the apparant spontaneity of their love-making. We still haven't gotten beyond the "strategically arranged bedsheet" stage of depicting sex in films.
The ending was a powerhouse for me; it had a great impact. I didn't know what it was till I was walking out of the theater. I felt the sting of Judith's words: "You love them more than you love me." In the wedding scene, the truth of her words was borne out...and this drama became tragedy when Zaza's behavior at the wedding banquet fore-shadowed a future in which he would become like the other men in his family. Very powerful!
And so, I think the opening and closing scenes were worth the price of admission, and there was a lot to be involved with in between.
Hats Off! to the director.