MWFF 2014 - Tangerines

MANDARIINID / TANGERINES

2013, Colour, Estonia, Georgia, South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands, Focus on World Cinema 

Production Team

Director: Zaza Urushadze

Screenwriter: Zaza Urushadze

Cinematographer Rein Kotov

Editor: Alexander Kuranov

Cast: Mikheil Meskhi, Giorgi Nakashidze, Elmo Nüganen, Raivo Trass

Film production and Sales: Prod.: Ivo Felt, Zaza Urushadze, Allfilm, Tallinn (Estonie) / Cinema24 (Géorgie) / Artur Veeber, Tatjana Mulbeier

Director

Born in 1966, Zaza Urushadze is a Georgian film director and screenwriter. He graduated from the Georgian State University of Theatre and Film in 1988 and headed the Georgian National Film Centre in 2002-04. His features include: HERE COMES THE DAWN (1998), THREE HOUSES (2008, shown at the MWFF), STAY WITH (2011), THE GUARDIAN (2012). 

Official Synopsis

"War in Abkhazi, 1992. An Estonian man Ivo has stayed behind to harvest his crops of tangerines. After a bloody skirmish two wounded men are left at his door. But they are enemies." 

This is a remarkable film. A piecefully-looking, protected valley in Caucasion maountains, where large tangerines are ready to be picked from the fertile trees, used to be an Estonian village enclave. But now it is invaded by solders and gun shots. Most of its former inhabitants have left to return back to Estonia. Only two neighbours Ivo and Marcus remain. Ivo has only photos in his house that tell us about his family. One day the fate brings to his door two wounded solders, two enemies who battle on the opposite sides of the war, and who hate each other when fighting. Ivo takes care of both of them, and nurses them both back to life. There is a slow but sure transformation happening in both solders, where they melt away the layers of hatered for the "enemy" and become simply two human beings who are almost brother-like, living under the same roof of their protector Ivo. Ivo's strength of the character, his straight-forward fearless stance and level-headedness, melt the hard core of two enemies and turn them into friends, who are ready to battle for the other's life.

This film shows clearly the futility of hateread and wars, where armed battles seem to be fought for some abstract causes, and where the humanity and the unity of all human beings is totally lost. The film poses one real question: what are the real human values, and how we should treat each other and our neighbours.

I highly recommend to see this film, it is very powerful in its simple, tempered way.