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Since Otar Left [1900] [Multilingual] [Region 1]

1 disc
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

The crumbling squalor of former USSR city Tibilisi, Georgia, is the setting for a tale of three generations of Soviet women. Elder matriarch Eka (Esther Gorintin) lives for the letters from her beloved son Otar, who fled to Paris years ago as an illegal immigrant. Her daughter Marina (Nino Khomassourioze) strains under the pressures of their miserable existence in the now "free" country where the electricity and water work only sporadically and the buildings seem as depressed as the people. She loves her mother, though, and when news arrives of Otar's sudden death she asks her own daughter (Dinara Drukarova) to keep writing the letters so as not to break Eka's heart. The plot thickens when Eka decides to spend their life savings on three tickets to Paris so they can track down her beloved Otar.

Director Julie Bertucelli previously worked as an assistant director to Krzystof Kieslowski (RED, WHITE, and BLUE trilogy) and she has inherited his genius for lighting, composition, and ability to find beauty in the most squalid domestic settings. The excellent cast conveys much with minimal dialogue, making this register far more deeply than as a mere allegory of a country coming to terms with its past lies and failures. It won the 2003 Critic's Week Grand Prize at Cannes.
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): ZEI D1063D
Credits

Esther Gorintin, Dinara Droukarova, Nino Khomassouridze, Temour Kalandadze, Roussoudan Bolkvadze, Sacha Sarichvili, Douta Skhirtladze
Critic Reviews

"Lies are sustained out of itchy bonds of love in this striking feature debut by Julie Bertuccelli."
Entertainment Weekly
"It's a wonderful film with a love of intimacy, an eye for potent small moments that can go by unobserved and a willingness to explore the emotional complications of family relationships."
Los Angeles Times
"Charming....Julie Bertucelli winkles out an affectionate portrait of female resilience....Ultimately very touching."
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