Since Otar Left (2003 - subtitles)

            The plot device for this film is Otar, working illegally, without a proper visa in Paris, France and dying as a result of a construction accident.  However, the story is about his family, three generations of women living in or near T'Bilisi, the capital of Georgia and how they deal with his death. 

            Ada, the granddaughter, is still in school, probably equivalent to our junior college.  Marina, her mother and Otar's sister, has a lover and works bazaars with him.  Eka, the matriarch of the family, is obsessed with her distant son.  Notified of Otar's death, Marina decides to hide this from Eka and this issue drives the storyline. 

            As in many foreign films, the camera gives us a tour of the living conditions and quality of life in another country, Georgia.  The storyline moves slowly, developing the characters so that we will understand the significance of the ending.  In that sense, it's a very clever plot.  Otherwise, it's a vignette, a snapshot of events and reactions.  But the ending with its climax and anticlimax gives us an interesting sense of completion.

            The story doesn't bother with many of the details.  We don't know exactly where they live or that it's in Georgia until late in the story.  We don't know the year except that it's post 1994.  The family is strapped for money, yet they apparently own a country home in addition to living in a town house that looks very much like a U.S. dilapidated tenement building.  There is a woman in several scenes who is involved in the plot in a minor way, but we don't know who she is or what her relationship to the family is.  However, this is a French film set in a Russian speaking country, therefore many of these seeming anomalies may be related to failures in the subtitle translations.

            The three actresses are excellent and it's the reality they create that draws you into the story.  In particular, Esther Gorinthin who plays Eka, the matriarch, made her film debut at age 85.  She was probably close to 90 at this filming and in a state of advanced osteoporosis. That's particularly impressive considering what she does in her role at the end of the story. 

            The one DVD Special Features segment I found interesting was in a section called Behind the Scenes, 1. Photos for T'Bilisi.  We see film clips and photographs of locations considered for the shoot.

            Reviewed December 11, 2005            Copyright 2005 Charles T. Markee

            Not rated, but probably PG-13 for one four letter word uttered.