Cinema
Repentance
მონანიება
Tengiz Abuladze · 1984
Synopsis
Varlam Aravidze, mayor of a small Georgian town for more than thirty years, is buried with full honours. The next day, his corpse is found in his son's garden. It is buried again, and it reappears. The fourth time, the culprit is caught: a woman who was eight years old when Varlam became all-powerful, and who is determined that he shall not rest.
Context
The film was shot in 1983 and 1984 for Georgian television, then held back for three years by the authorities: the premiere planned for May 1985 did not take place, a copy was taken to Moscow and the film was discussed there at the highest level of the party. Varlam Aravidze wears Hitler's moustache and Mussolini's black shirt: the fable targets not one tyrant but all of them. The screenplay is by Nana Djanelidze and the director, who also wrote the music; the cinematography is by Mikhail Agranovich, and Avtandil Makharadze plays the double role of the tyrant and his son.
Who it is for
Two hours thirty minutes, subtitled; the film is available on DVD in France. It helps to know that the film completes a trilogy begun in 1968 and that it can be understood on its own.
Prizes and reception
Grand Prix of the jury, International Critics' Prize and Ecumenical Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987, Lenin Prize in 1988, first Nika Award for best film.