I wasn't sure what this movie was about until it was over.
Set in Georgia (the country, not the state), filmmaker Tinatin Gurchiani lured
prospective actors to the set by releasing an open casting call for people
within a certain young age range. The replies were staggering. I am not sure
they were ready for the questions posed, but the answers were beautiful as well
as terrifying.
This documentary gives
insight into just how bleak life in that country can be. There is one woman in
particular who mentions that she wishes she had a machine that would make her
disappear. There are others who are looking for something lost within them long
ago, and the promise of being in this movie is all they have to cling to. It
hurt my heart to see just how exhausted and frustrated Georgians are,
especially the youth, who are the people one would expect to see filled with
the most optimism. Following people from all walks of life, this film delves
into recesses of the human psyche normally reserved for specialists or trusted
family members. We see one woman, in particular, who trusted the crew enough to
let them into her home where she lives with her father and grandmother. She
expresses the desire to meet her mother who abandoned her at birth, much to the
chagrin of her father. She decides to go and takes the crew with her"”an
emotionally disturbing scene follows, leaving not a dry eye in the Holiday
Theatre. I was amazed at how real and raw the footage was, especially knowing
that they shot it in about a month's time. If you see only one documentary this
year, make sure it's this one.
