Cinema
ჩემი ბებია
Kote Mikaberidze · 1929
Synopsis
A bureaucrat is dismissed from his office for an excess of paperwork. Terrified at the thought of announcing it at home, where his wife expects him to bring back a post, he sets out in search of a grandmother, that is, a highly placed protector whose recommendation would put him back in the saddle. His quest passes from antechamber to antechamber, and every door he gets through opens onto another.
Context
Filming took place in 1928 and the release in 1929. Banned at once as anti-Soviet, the film stayed on the shelf for nearly forty years, until Leila Gordeladze's restoration in 1976. The screenplay was written with Siko Dolidze and Giorgi Mdivani, the cinematography is by Anton Polikevich and Vladimir Poznan, the constructivist sets are by Irakli Gamrekeli, who was then working for Kote Marjanishvili's stage, and the lead role is played by Aleksandre Takaishvili in a register borrowed from American slapstick. The film bears two Georgian titles, ჩემი ბებია and Natlimama, the godfather.
Who it is for
A silent film of about an hour, with Georgian intertitles. It helps to know that the “grandmother” of the title refers, in the slang of Soviet offices, to the protector who gets someone a post.
Prizes and reception
The first title by its director, banned for a long time, and fourth among the twelve best Georgian films in a 2012 survey of critics.