Repentance

Contains major spoilers. It's quite ironic that a movie about a corrupt government controlling citizens and abolishing free speech was made in 1984. In fact, there are certain references to the book by George Orwell in this movie. For example, when Varlam "jokingly" threatens Sandro during a meeting, “I see everything, I notice everything, be careful,” the same way Orwell’s “1984” warns us by saying that “Big Brother” is always watching us. This movie was phenomenal, especially the writing side of it. Every scene has a depth and meaning beyond its surface. Dialogues and monologues are absolutely spectacular. It is necessary to mention that the symbolism and parallels in this movie are unlike anything I've seen before. The entire inauguration scene of Varlam foreshadows both his persona and his eventual fate. When he is giving the speech from the balcony, you can see a crow resting on the gallows, it is a reference to the scene of the trial, where Ketevan says that Varlam’s corpse deserves nothing else than being eaten by crows. Following the same pattern, Varlam gifts little Ketevan a bird in a cage, and later we find out that to stop the burglar, Varlam’s grave was put in a similar cage. People praised him, saying how he is a lion in a cage, when in reality he was a tiny bird trapped in a soulless, immoral cage. Towards the end, we also see him stuck in a bunker, surrounded not with wealth he worked for, family he created by destroying others, but rather only with his sins. The sun constantly burning him as a reminder of his wrongdoings. Varlam’s visit to Sandro’s family is an incredibly important scene. Abel grieving his dead mother and praying to a cross to bring her back exemplifies the system’s dehumanizing effect, showing how it shaped his lack of empathy. The scene of the court was absolutely dazzling. The process is set in a garden, where the judge is symbolically “married” to the law, represented by the Scales of Justice. Despite the brutal and unfair court process, the atmosphere is beautiful, cozy, and surprisingly friendly. Now towards the end. After Ketevan is finished with a story, Abel and his friends try all the possible things to dismiss the case. However, Tornike, grandson of Varlam, can’t take any more lies and confronts his father. This is the breaking point for Abel, his reputation is tarnished, his family is broken up, and everything he worked for is going down the drain, all discussed in a last scene where Abel is talking to a priest who turns out to be a hallucination of his father. “Didn’t you recognize me, my boy? You came to the devil for a confession?” is such a beautiful end to what I consider one of the greatest dialogues of all time. A mirror being broken in half, resembling the two faces of Abel, was a great touch as well. Tornike, fed up with lies and sins, ends his life, leaving his father in pain and agony, and the only thing left for him to do is to throw his dead father’s corpse from a cliff and leave it to rot... The movie gives us one last conversation that sums this movie up perfectly: “Excuse me, does this street lead to a church?” “No, this is Varlam Street, it doesn’t lead to a church.” “Then what do we need it for?” The acting of background characters was definitely the weakest point of this masterpiece, however, the main cast overshadows them. Avtandil Makharadze was unbelievable, he portrayed both Varlam and his son Abel, and he delivered an Oscar-worthy performance for both roles. Merab Ninidze does a great job playing Tornike as well, especially towards the end. Not much else can be said about acting. one thing that felt off was that less important characters voices were dubbed over and looked a little bit unrealistic, but again, Avtandil and Merab were so incredible that I can't say anything. Casting was definitely spot on. Cinematography, visual output, and scene compositions were remarkable and impressive. Certain parts, for example, Sandro and Nino running away from police, were some of the most visually pleasing scenes in all of Georgian cinema. Camera work and usage of colors are done tastefully and beautifully. Varlam and Abel are always shot in darker colors as opposed to Sandro, who is almost always in lighter, vibrant colors, outlining the spiritual difference between the characters. Nino’s and her daughter’s clothes also went from brighter red dresses to more bland, gray ones, following the arrest of Sandro. Even though I wrote more rn than in my Uni entrance exams, I still cant quite describe how good this movie is. *ინგლისური ფართო აუდიტორიისთვის :)