My only complaint about Tengiz Abuladze's REPENTANCE (English title) is that I am uncertain what was real and what was fantasy. However, since this was undoubtedly his intention, I cannot properly call it a complaint. Outside of David Lynch films, I have never seen more perfectly executed dream imagery than that of REPENTANCE; the beauty of these sequences is accentuated by the surreal atmosphere of the various dreamers' waking lives. The cast is uniformly excellent, the premise unique, and much of the dialogue resonates with beauty, despair and universal truth, often mingled with humor. No character is utterly devoid of sympathy, nor is any character entirely sympathetic. All is ambiguous, just as it is in our own so-called "reality".
30 Reviews
Good film to watch
rebe_afaro14 November 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This film was masterfully orchestrated with its use of allusion and cinematically pleasing to the viewer. The story begins with a woman baking a cake while a man who sits and eats the cake brings up, rather tearfully, the recent death of an important local mayor. Varlam Aravidze the source of focus in the film is a recently deceased dictator-like mayor that through his govern established the use of many Stalinistic ideals and utilized countless Machiavellian techniques to subdue the people of the town. The film then goes through a surreal like dream sequence in which the woman, a former victim of this cruel regime, baking the cakes thinks of these injustices and creates a world in which proper punishment, the exhumation of his corpse, is administered for the crimes he committed. Through this dream sequence the director skillfully oscillates between the past and the apparent dream present back to the real present. During which many allusions are made to the actual Stalin regime and the damages inflicted on the people of the time. Despite the time period being set during the stagnation era the after effects of the administration are still profound in this films portrayal of what ends up being a tragedy caused by the after effects of the administration. The quote "the time we live in has Varlam arrested" might have been a literal reference to this time period of stagnation in which Varlam's older Stalinistic practices were no longer widely condoned but as can be later be seen through of the film, cannot be simply ignored. The movie was definitely much more entertainment based than others that might have come before it that might have only served ideological purposes. The movie was very insightful in Soviet customs which can be seen through the funeral scene that might seem odd but familiar in the ritual aspect to foreigners. The time skips and changes in dream planes added a level of ironic enough realism that made the social commentary on the consequences of ignoring the past even more palpable to a viewer. Overall the film was great and worth watching the full 150 minutes of it.
Attacking the Stalinist era one man at a time...
planktonrules2 January 2014
After the death of Stalin, folks in the Soviet Union were allowed to express their feelings towards his reign of terror...at least to a point. However, the government also was concerned that these complaints might lead to complaints about the current system--and this is probably why "Repentance" was banned for several years after it was filmed. It does attack the Stalinist era and mentality--but apparently those in power at the time weren't willing to allow such a film to be released.
"Repentance" is a very surreal sort of film--one which has many story elements that seem dreamy and unreal while the rest of it is quite literal. While there were purges, seeing the 20th century purges carried out by knights in armor, a living statue of Justice and many other story elements are dream-like and strange. This is not really a complaint--just an observation. The film looks almost like Dalí or Buñuel added a few touches here and there...just a few.
The story begins in the present day. The beloved mayor of a Georgian town, Varlem, has died and folks come to his funeral to pay their respects. However, several times after the funeral, the body of this man has been taken from the crypt and placed in his yard! After the third time, they catch the woman responsible and she is taken into custody. At the hearing, she openly admits having done it and tells a story of long ago--when Varlem first became mayor. At that time, he made a name for himself persecuting the innocent--and the story is about how this impacted the woman personally.
Following her long tale, the story goes to the present day. The hypocrisy and evil of Valem's friends are examined as well--including one case about a man who struggles between Atheism and Christianity. Under Christianity, he SHOULD feel guilt--and he ultimately gets to meet the Devil (this is pretty weird...and clever). Other folks all begin to confront their own part in Varlem's reign of terror.
Instead of this film directly attacking Stalinism, it clearly attacks these tactics on a smaller scale. And, I am sure it was not unintentional that Varlem looked much like a bloated Hitler! A very strange but daring film. While today it might be seen as very tame, back in the mid-1980s it must have caused the filmmakers a lot of problems--and potentially prison. Quite clever but quite slow and strange. Well worth seeing--especially if you lived through this era.
"Repentance" is a very surreal sort of film--one which has many story elements that seem dreamy and unreal while the rest of it is quite literal. While there were purges, seeing the 20th century purges carried out by knights in armor, a living statue of Justice and many other story elements are dream-like and strange. This is not really a complaint--just an observation. The film looks almost like Dalí or Buñuel added a few touches here and there...just a few.
The story begins in the present day. The beloved mayor of a Georgian town, Varlem, has died and folks come to his funeral to pay their respects. However, several times after the funeral, the body of this man has been taken from the crypt and placed in his yard! After the third time, they catch the woman responsible and she is taken into custody. At the hearing, she openly admits having done it and tells a story of long ago--when Varlem first became mayor. At that time, he made a name for himself persecuting the innocent--and the story is about how this impacted the woman personally.
Following her long tale, the story goes to the present day. The hypocrisy and evil of Valem's friends are examined as well--including one case about a man who struggles between Atheism and Christianity. Under Christianity, he SHOULD feel guilt--and he ultimately gets to meet the Devil (this is pretty weird...and clever). Other folks all begin to confront their own part in Varlem's reign of terror.
Instead of this film directly attacking Stalinism, it clearly attacks these tactics on a smaller scale. And, I am sure it was not unintentional that Varlem looked much like a bloated Hitler! A very strange but daring film. While today it might be seen as very tame, back in the mid-1980s it must have caused the filmmakers a lot of problems--and potentially prison. Quite clever but quite slow and strange. Well worth seeing--especially if you lived through this era.
Underrated Masterpiece
Irakli2822 February 2001
Warning: Spoilers
For Georgian Cinema, every film of T.Abuladze was a landmark. Each project was at least the most typical if not the best film of its time. Visually they all are made in different style and form defined by (or sometimes defining) the trends in the contemporary Georgian cinema. (spoilers ahead !).
The major achievement of Tengiz Abuladze himself is a trilogy The Plead, Tree of Wishes and Repentance. These films got a wide critical acclaim and Repentance even became the major hit in USSR. Many Soviet and Post-Soviet Critics and viewers consider it to be the best Soviet film of 80-ies. The phrases and notions from this film became proverbs and are quoted everywhere, general concepts "Repentance" and "the Way to the Temple" where over-abused by soviet media for over a decade. But... some foreign critics were much less agitated by the film. Leonard Maltin even found it boring (while in USSR the film was often criticized for being too entertaining !!!). On the contrary film by Nikita Mikhalkhov on a similar subject - "Burnt by the Sun" was very well received in the west, while in former USSR it was simply excoriated by critics as a shallow Hollywood-oriented Soap and a definite cash-in on the glory of Repentance. Some foreign critics and viewers didn't understand anything about the Repentance (which is full of symbols and allusions, some of them are uniquely Georgian.) apart from the Stalin criticism. Here are some facts about the film that foreigners mostly do not know.
1. The story- is a real one - Beria (the darkest evil character of Stalin epoque crushed a well-known painter after he attempted to protect the Metechi Temple (a trade mark of Tbilisi-capital of Georgia), that Beria planned to destroy to build some monument. As always everyone who opposed Beria were arrested and mostly executed. But the Temple- symbol of spirituality, human values, heart of a nation survived.
2. Due to this the prologue and epilogue of the film are very important - (by the way there are 2 time periods in the film- the Past - Stalin Time, totalitarian regime, the Present - Brejnev Period, so called Zastoi (standstill, stagnation period) - time of conformism when everything became seemingly all right)- so the prologue and epilogue is the picture of the soviet Zastoi of 70-ies- everything seems to be all right and a child of family destroyed by totalitarian regime makes cakes with beautiful but fake temples on them, eventually the cake is eaten be a dirty little bearded man admiring the totalitarian past and speaking about Varlam Aravidze (read Stalin, Beria and all other monsters from the Past) with admiration, and the cake-maker (the victim of Varlam) says nothing and just imagines what could she do to remind people of truth. But this is just her imagination, people are conformists they need no truth and only old vagabond woman searches for the Way to the Tample.
3. The Axis of the film is Aravidze family (Aravidze in Georgian means Nobody's Son): we see 3 generations- Varlam - (the totalitarian past), his son Abel and His Wife- (the "innocent" conformist Present,) and Tornike- the Grandson (the future that finally must take the responsibility for the crimes of past)
4. But this " taking the responsibility for the crimes of past" is a controversial issue that's why everything happens only in the imagination of the cake-maker- becouse the degree and a form of repentance, and the repentance itself is a very complex and painful matter; and yes, the Skeleton in the Closet affects and punishes not Varlam who commits the crime but Abel who tries to hush it up and Tornike who is among few really "innocent" characters of the film. Digging out the corpse of Varlam (the Past) - is this a solution? The authors leave the question to the viewers.
5. Some scenes need explanation:
The funeral may look grotesque, but in fact its pretty realistic and is more a humoristic critique of Georgian obsession with ceremonies Georgian Cemeteries are really the monuments of human vanity - huge, with excessive use of marble, granites and other materials. Putting cage on the grave of Varlam is symbolic, but in general the episode depicts how unholy the sacred places have become in Soviet Union (Georgia), the episode with church shows the same - the church is transformed into Power Station. Episode in the greenhouse is a Naked Gun-like literal depiction of the expression "Under the Cap"(to have someone under control). During his "Inauguration Speech" Varlam makes a statement that became quintessential when depicting Stalin regime. He cites Confucius " It's hard to catch cat in the dark room, especially if it is not there" and paraphrases it "We Will Catch the Cat in the Dark Room, Even if It's not There". For those who have little idea of Stalinism the accusation for "making a tunnel from Bombay to London " may sound forced but in fact its very realistic and sounds rather tame next to some other accusations based on which millions of people were killed. Episode with Goddess of Justice has dual symbolism: First, the goddess has become a lady of dubious reputation playing piano with a stalinistic prosecutor, second, the actress making cameo appearance here appeared in the first part of the trilogy as well (the Plea) there she was a symbol of beauty and purity.
6. The cast is "all star" (of Georgian cinema of course). Many viewers even didn't noticed that father and son- Varlam and Abel are acted by the same actor !!! The old lady at the end of the film looking for a temple, is last screen appearance of Veriko Anjaparidze, perhaps the greatest Georgian actress. By the way her character is obvious "older" Pupala from the "Tree of Wishes", there this character was acted by S. Chiaureli -daughter of Veriko.
The major achievement of Tengiz Abuladze himself is a trilogy The Plead, Tree of Wishes and Repentance. These films got a wide critical acclaim and Repentance even became the major hit in USSR. Many Soviet and Post-Soviet Critics and viewers consider it to be the best Soviet film of 80-ies. The phrases and notions from this film became proverbs and are quoted everywhere, general concepts "Repentance" and "the Way to the Temple" where over-abused by soviet media for over a decade. But... some foreign critics were much less agitated by the film. Leonard Maltin even found it boring (while in USSR the film was often criticized for being too entertaining !!!). On the contrary film by Nikita Mikhalkhov on a similar subject - "Burnt by the Sun" was very well received in the west, while in former USSR it was simply excoriated by critics as a shallow Hollywood-oriented Soap and a definite cash-in on the glory of Repentance. Some foreign critics and viewers didn't understand anything about the Repentance (which is full of symbols and allusions, some of them are uniquely Georgian.) apart from the Stalin criticism. Here are some facts about the film that foreigners mostly do not know.
1. The story- is a real one - Beria (the darkest evil character of Stalin epoque crushed a well-known painter after he attempted to protect the Metechi Temple (a trade mark of Tbilisi-capital of Georgia), that Beria planned to destroy to build some monument. As always everyone who opposed Beria were arrested and mostly executed. But the Temple- symbol of spirituality, human values, heart of a nation survived.
2. Due to this the prologue and epilogue of the film are very important - (by the way there are 2 time periods in the film- the Past - Stalin Time, totalitarian regime, the Present - Brejnev Period, so called Zastoi (standstill, stagnation period) - time of conformism when everything became seemingly all right)- so the prologue and epilogue is the picture of the soviet Zastoi of 70-ies- everything seems to be all right and a child of family destroyed by totalitarian regime makes cakes with beautiful but fake temples on them, eventually the cake is eaten be a dirty little bearded man admiring the totalitarian past and speaking about Varlam Aravidze (read Stalin, Beria and all other monsters from the Past) with admiration, and the cake-maker (the victim of Varlam) says nothing and just imagines what could she do to remind people of truth. But this is just her imagination, people are conformists they need no truth and only old vagabond woman searches for the Way to the Tample.
3. The Axis of the film is Aravidze family (Aravidze in Georgian means Nobody's Son): we see 3 generations- Varlam - (the totalitarian past), his son Abel and His Wife- (the "innocent" conformist Present,) and Tornike- the Grandson (the future that finally must take the responsibility for the crimes of past)
4. But this " taking the responsibility for the crimes of past" is a controversial issue that's why everything happens only in the imagination of the cake-maker- becouse the degree and a form of repentance, and the repentance itself is a very complex and painful matter; and yes, the Skeleton in the Closet affects and punishes not Varlam who commits the crime but Abel who tries to hush it up and Tornike who is among few really "innocent" characters of the film. Digging out the corpse of Varlam (the Past) - is this a solution? The authors leave the question to the viewers.
5. Some scenes need explanation:
The funeral may look grotesque, but in fact its pretty realistic and is more a humoristic critique of Georgian obsession with ceremonies Georgian Cemeteries are really the monuments of human vanity - huge, with excessive use of marble, granites and other materials. Putting cage on the grave of Varlam is symbolic, but in general the episode depicts how unholy the sacred places have become in Soviet Union (Georgia), the episode with church shows the same - the church is transformed into Power Station. Episode in the greenhouse is a Naked Gun-like literal depiction of the expression "Under the Cap"(to have someone under control). During his "Inauguration Speech" Varlam makes a statement that became quintessential when depicting Stalin regime. He cites Confucius " It's hard to catch cat in the dark room, especially if it is not there" and paraphrases it "We Will Catch the Cat in the Dark Room, Even if It's not There". For those who have little idea of Stalinism the accusation for "making a tunnel from Bombay to London " may sound forced but in fact its very realistic and sounds rather tame next to some other accusations based on which millions of people were killed. Episode with Goddess of Justice has dual symbolism: First, the goddess has become a lady of dubious reputation playing piano with a stalinistic prosecutor, second, the actress making cameo appearance here appeared in the first part of the trilogy as well (the Plea) there she was a symbol of beauty and purity.
6. The cast is "all star" (of Georgian cinema of course). Many viewers even didn't noticed that father and son- Varlam and Abel are acted by the same actor !!! The old lady at the end of the film looking for a temple, is last screen appearance of Veriko Anjaparidze, perhaps the greatest Georgian actress. By the way her character is obvious "older" Pupala from the "Tree of Wishes", there this character was acted by S. Chiaureli -daughter of Veriko.
An astonishing portrait of a totalitarian monster
gray42 November 2006
This wonderful Georgian film emerged from the last years of the Soviet regime, but seems to have disappeared without trace. The final film of a trilogy by the veteran film-maker Tengiz Abuladze, it portrays a composite monster, Varlam (Hitler moustache, Mussolini shirt & braces, Stalin boots, Beria pince-nez) and his equally grotesque son Abel, both played by the same actor.
The film has a surrealist, dreamlike quality about it, framed by initial and final scenes in a cake-shop and with police almost comic in medieval armour. The main actions which initiate the plot are surrealist with the repeated exhumation of Varlam's corpse. The two monstrous central characters are no more than mayors of a small Georgian town - but there is nothing comic about their actions and the reign of terror they bring to the community. The elements of tyranny are revealed economically, with hints of atrocities and disappearances but only one brief torture scene. The overall message is that of personal responsibility. The tyrannical regime is not an anonymous bureaucracy but the deliberate creation of evil men. And the final repentance is a horrific recognition of those responsibilities. An unmissable film, beautifully made and superbly acted - if you can find it.
The film has a surrealist, dreamlike quality about it, framed by initial and final scenes in a cake-shop and with police almost comic in medieval armour. The main actions which initiate the plot are surrealist with the repeated exhumation of Varlam's corpse. The two monstrous central characters are no more than mayors of a small Georgian town - but there is nothing comic about their actions and the reign of terror they bring to the community. The elements of tyranny are revealed economically, with hints of atrocities and disappearances but only one brief torture scene. The overall message is that of personal responsibility. The tyrannical regime is not an anonymous bureaucracy but the deliberate creation of evil men. And the final repentance is a horrific recognition of those responsibilities. An unmissable film, beautifully made and superbly acted - if you can find it.
Film as witness
oOgiandujaOo_and_Eddy_Merckx4 September 2009
The movie starts with a newspaper obituary recording the death of Varlam Aravidze, the mayor of a town in Georgia. We're then shown what has happened in the town in the past when Varlam was mayor. He's nominally a communist type, however it's made pretty clear that his stripes, and the stripes of all Stalinists, are feudal. This is shown, for example, by having the police of the town dressed as mediaeval knights. It's an idea explored in Iosseliani's Brigands too, that Russian rulers have been a succession of crazed autocratic knaves.
At one point in the film Varlam plaintively quotes from Shakespeare's sonnet 66:
Tired with all these, for restful death I cry, As, to behold desert a beggar born, And needy nothing trimm'd in jollity, And purest faith unhappily forsworn, And gilded honour shamefully misplaced, And maiden virtue rudely strumpeted, And right perfection wrongfully disgraced, And strength by limping sway disabled, And art made tongue-tied by authority, And folly doctor-like controlling skill, And simple truth miscall'd simplicity, And captive good attending captain ill: Tired with all these, from these would I be gone, Save that, to die, I leave my love alone.
Which is a harangue against everything he stands for. He's a man who has knowingly chosen to do wrong, a comedian who has turned his fiefdom into a comedy of terror. At one point he arranges for his son to jump out of a second story window to shock his captive audience, but in fact the boy is caught below. He surrounds himself with illiterate sycophants whom he brings into and out of favour arbitrarily, arranges for people to be arrested and benevolently releases them when complaints are made. In the end however he's merely a snake playing with its live food before devouring.
Varlam arranges for people to be exiled, presumably to Siberia although we're not told. One day a shipment of logs arrives on the outskirts of town. They have been logged by the kidnapped men of the town. Each survivor has carved their name into the end of the timber. Women from the town trudge around the muddy lumberyard looking for their husbands' names, looking for proof of life for men denied the right of correspondence. This is the most powerful scene in my opinion.
There are also a number of dream scenes and very surreal scenes that are very appealing in their artistry, which I leave the reader to discover for themselves.
Varlam is, as has been pointed out, a concoction of dictators (superficially containing elements of Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin), but may well, in more concrete terms be based on a real life figure, Georgian-born Lavrentiy Beria, a man more unpleasant than the imaginations of most can conjure up. He was Stalin's chief murderer, a sexual sadist who performed unimaginable feats of depravity, he also briefly participated in the running of Russia as part of a "troika" after Stalin's death. The film does not dwell on the huge depths of his depravities, as the acts he performed are unspeakable and unfilmable. The film is a quiet but firm indictment however of Stalinist politics, of the manipulation and double-think and an ode to Georgian culture.
The purpose of the film is to not let Beria, or more generally the authoritarians of the time, rest in peace; to act as testament to the cruel depravities of the Stalinist era.
In my opinion it's absolutely unmissable.
At one point in the film Varlam plaintively quotes from Shakespeare's sonnet 66:
Tired with all these, for restful death I cry, As, to behold desert a beggar born, And needy nothing trimm'd in jollity, And purest faith unhappily forsworn, And gilded honour shamefully misplaced, And maiden virtue rudely strumpeted, And right perfection wrongfully disgraced, And strength by limping sway disabled, And art made tongue-tied by authority, And folly doctor-like controlling skill, And simple truth miscall'd simplicity, And captive good attending captain ill: Tired with all these, from these would I be gone, Save that, to die, I leave my love alone.
Which is a harangue against everything he stands for. He's a man who has knowingly chosen to do wrong, a comedian who has turned his fiefdom into a comedy of terror. At one point he arranges for his son to jump out of a second story window to shock his captive audience, but in fact the boy is caught below. He surrounds himself with illiterate sycophants whom he brings into and out of favour arbitrarily, arranges for people to be arrested and benevolently releases them when complaints are made. In the end however he's merely a snake playing with its live food before devouring.
Varlam arranges for people to be exiled, presumably to Siberia although we're not told. One day a shipment of logs arrives on the outskirts of town. They have been logged by the kidnapped men of the town. Each survivor has carved their name into the end of the timber. Women from the town trudge around the muddy lumberyard looking for their husbands' names, looking for proof of life for men denied the right of correspondence. This is the most powerful scene in my opinion.
There are also a number of dream scenes and very surreal scenes that are very appealing in their artistry, which I leave the reader to discover for themselves.
Varlam is, as has been pointed out, a concoction of dictators (superficially containing elements of Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin), but may well, in more concrete terms be based on a real life figure, Georgian-born Lavrentiy Beria, a man more unpleasant than the imaginations of most can conjure up. He was Stalin's chief murderer, a sexual sadist who performed unimaginable feats of depravity, he also briefly participated in the running of Russia as part of a "troika" after Stalin's death. The film does not dwell on the huge depths of his depravities, as the acts he performed are unspeakable and unfilmable. The film is a quiet but firm indictment however of Stalinist politics, of the manipulation and double-think and an ode to Georgian culture.
The purpose of the film is to not let Beria, or more generally the authoritarians of the time, rest in peace; to act as testament to the cruel depravities of the Stalinist era.
In my opinion it's absolutely unmissable.
everything you see in this movie makes you think....
sanni-seven17 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
For me, that's what a true movie should do: make you think, discuss what you saw with others and, as importantly, with yourself... So many incredible scenes... So many questions, for which you should find an answer suitable for yourself... Many things seem ingénues and at the same time a little absurd: the medieval guard in the middle of the 20th century, the Barateli court scene, the deadman being dug from his grave... makharadze plays in a way that makes you sit open-mouthed... the scene of killing the sun is a masterpiece, as well as the scene of Abel on a confession... simply brilliant...
The character of Varlam Aravidze is also an incredible creation of both Makharadze and Abuladze: can you imagine Beria, Stalin and Hitler fused in one person? well, you get this person here, and the horror is that this person looks just like you and me, not a monster everyone sees drawn in their fantasies...
Quotes, dialogues and phrases take special place in this film... By listening to how Varlam talks, how he addresses people, you get a template of how a person can become a tyrant, dictator... "We will catch the black cat in a dark room, even if this cat is not in the room"
and, of course the question of the century: "is it worth to kill millions to save hundreds of millions?" publicly everyone will say "no, it's not"... but in reality...
I'll finish with one of the main things said in the movie, one of the reasons this film is a masterpiece: "will this road lead me to the temple?"...."why do i need a road that does not lead to the temple?" these are the questions of the 20th century as well... you decide what a "temple" is and whether or not we are on the proper road...
this film truly deserves all the praise it got from the world community...
The character of Varlam Aravidze is also an incredible creation of both Makharadze and Abuladze: can you imagine Beria, Stalin and Hitler fused in one person? well, you get this person here, and the horror is that this person looks just like you and me, not a monster everyone sees drawn in their fantasies...
Quotes, dialogues and phrases take special place in this film... By listening to how Varlam talks, how he addresses people, you get a template of how a person can become a tyrant, dictator... "We will catch the black cat in a dark room, even if this cat is not in the room"
and, of course the question of the century: "is it worth to kill millions to save hundreds of millions?" publicly everyone will say "no, it's not"... but in reality...
I'll finish with one of the main things said in the movie, one of the reasons this film is a masterpiece: "will this road lead me to the temple?"...."why do i need a road that does not lead to the temple?" these are the questions of the 20th century as well... you decide what a "temple" is and whether or not we are on the proper road...
this film truly deserves all the praise it got from the world community...
Absurd parable on the absurdity of tyranny
Teyss23 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Repentance" is part of a trilogy produced on the long term, together with Vedreba (1967) and Natvris khe (1976). Nonetheless, it can be watched as stand-alone. Its originality, outstanding aesthetics and compelling themes constitute a landmark in former USSR cinema, as well as worldwide. It is a fascinating metaphor on power, tyranny and ideology.
STRUCTURE
The structure of the movie is as of "Russian puppets" (this comparison is of pure form, since it is Georgian): stories are imbricated in one another. There are six sequences, organised on four different levels.
This "Russian puppets" structure generates a sensation of confinement, on line with the environment: the story is limited to a town without any news from outside; time seems suspended although the action takes place over decades; we are lost in a indefinite period between modernity and Middle Ages (the horse carriage, the medieval armours). The confinement materialises an allegory: the focus is on symbols, not proportions nor accuracy.
ABSURD REALITY...
Another trademark of the movie is its unique mix of reality and fantasy.
Conversely, many supposedly "authentic" scenes feel unreal.
The confusion between reality and fantasy even casts doubt on the movie's structure and credibility. Did Ketevan imagine all this, or only partly? What is true or not? Metaphorically, this incertitude illustrates the absurdity of tyranny: everything is irrational.
... ABSURD LOGIC...
To carry on, despotism will use reasons that look logical but are arbitrary:
On top of power, "Repentance" is a reflection about ideology. Varlam is cultured: he knows about painting and religious art, he sings, recites Shakespeare, quotes Confucius. So is his son Abel, who plays the piano. Yet knowledge is nothing, and even dangerous, if it is used for wrong reasons. Culture turns against itself: Sandro's paintings are confiscated; the artist Sandro is deported; the temple is destroyed; Varlam promotes precisely what Shakespeare's sonnet criticised. To save the world, we do not need brains but a heart.
... VERSUS TRUE EMOTIONS
A heart, granted, but how? Crushed by oppression, people are powerless. Ketevan, whose family was destroyed by Varlam, now feeds a ridiculous little man who supports the dictator; she can only imagine what she could do. Varlam's grandson commits suicide. Opponents collaborate and/or are deported. People fantasise to escape reality.
Nevertheless, for a heart and to escape oppression, one can turn to religion. As a reminder, religion was heavily repressed in USSR. Allusions to this repression include: the man at the beginning eats cakes shaped as churches; Varlam in Abel's dream eats a fish (reference to Christ: ICTUS); the temple crumbles and is finally destroyed. Yet as a sign of hope, the movie closes on the wise words of an old lady: "What good is a road if it doesn't lead to a temple?" Spirituality will carry on regardless.
In the end, what is the "Repentance" of the title? Merab's who realises how evil his grandfather was? Abel's who throws away Varlam's body? Ketevan's who regrets being unable to perform her imagined revenge? Others' lack of repentance? As the movie, the title encloses different levels of interpretation and remains partly mysterious.
STRUCTURE
The structure of the movie is as of "Russian puppets" (this comparison is of pure form, since it is Georgian): stories are imbricated in one another. There are six sequences, organised on four different levels.
- 1. PRESENT. A woman, Ketevan, and a man learn the death of Varlam.
- 2. IMAGINATION. (We first think it is a continuation of present action. The true nature of this sequence will only be revealed at the end.) Ketevan imagines she unearths Varlam's body and faces trial.
- 3. PAST. Ketevan during the trial describes how her childhood and family were destroyed by Varlam. It is hence an "imagined flashback" since it is included in part 2.
- 4. FANTASY. Four scenes are included in parts 3 and 5: Nino dreams (she and Sandro try to escape Varlam); Abel daydreams (he talks to a devilish character who is actually Varlam); Merab fantasises twice (he sees Varlam is crazy, Guliko dances near Varlam's body).
- 5. IMAGINATION (same level as 2). We come back to the trial.
- 6. PRESENT (same level as 1). We understand parts 2 to 5 were imagined by Ketevan.
This "Russian puppets" structure generates a sensation of confinement, on line with the environment: the story is limited to a town without any news from outside; time seems suspended although the action takes place over decades; we are lost in a indefinite period between modernity and Middle Ages (the horse carriage, the medieval armours). The confinement materialises an allegory: the focus is on symbols, not proportions nor accuracy.
ABSURD REALITY...
Another trademark of the movie is its unique mix of reality and fantasy.
- Abel daydreams he sees Varlam eating a fish: when he comes to, his hands actually grasp fish bones.
- When Merab imagines Varlam is crazy, the scene seems real, and is probably based on actual facts: Varlam was somewhat lunatic, a feature that might have worsened with age.
Conversely, many supposedly "authentic" scenes feel unreal.
- When Sandro comes back, he meets a man in suit and a blindfolded woman (Justice) playing piano outside.
- When Nino and her young daughter Ketevan look for Sandro's name on logs, the atmosphere is dreamlike or, rather, nightmarish: outstanding images, pace and music make this scene one of the most compelling of the movie, and of cinema in general.
The confusion between reality and fantasy even casts doubt on the movie's structure and credibility. Did Ketevan imagine all this, or only partly? What is true or not? Metaphorically, this incertitude illustrates the absurdity of tyranny: everything is irrational.
- Power is unpredictable: Varlam is grotesque but omnipotent; he suddenly changes from sympathy to repression; stupid accomplices become powerful.
- Nobody is safe: rules are arbitrary; people can be arrested or released randomly; a centuries-old temple is destroyed for no reason; opponents confess stupid acts (digging a tunnel between London and Bombay) and denounce everybody to weaken the system.
- Power transits from one generation to another unchanged (the same actor plays Varlam and his son Abel) until it destroys itself: Merab, unable to embrace the system or change it, commits suicide; Abel eventually unearths Varlam and throws him to the crows, exactly as Ketevan said she wanted to.
... ABSURD LOGIC...
To carry on, despotism will use reasons that look logical but are arbitrary:
- Scientific "progress" overriding everything else: the experiments endangering the temple.
- A minority presented as "the people": the letter denouncing Sandro.
- External threats repeated a few times.
- Necessity of hardships that will bring better tomorrows, on the glorious music of "Ode to Joy".
- Senseless quotes celebrated as Gospel: "We will catch the black cat in the dark room, even if there is no cat".
On top of power, "Repentance" is a reflection about ideology. Varlam is cultured: he knows about painting and religious art, he sings, recites Shakespeare, quotes Confucius. So is his son Abel, who plays the piano. Yet knowledge is nothing, and even dangerous, if it is used for wrong reasons. Culture turns against itself: Sandro's paintings are confiscated; the artist Sandro is deported; the temple is destroyed; Varlam promotes precisely what Shakespeare's sonnet criticised. To save the world, we do not need brains but a heart.
... VERSUS TRUE EMOTIONS
A heart, granted, but how? Crushed by oppression, people are powerless. Ketevan, whose family was destroyed by Varlam, now feeds a ridiculous little man who supports the dictator; she can only imagine what she could do. Varlam's grandson commits suicide. Opponents collaborate and/or are deported. People fantasise to escape reality.
Nevertheless, for a heart and to escape oppression, one can turn to religion. As a reminder, religion was heavily repressed in USSR. Allusions to this repression include: the man at the beginning eats cakes shaped as churches; Varlam in Abel's dream eats a fish (reference to Christ: ICTUS); the temple crumbles and is finally destroyed. Yet as a sign of hope, the movie closes on the wise words of an old lady: "What good is a road if it doesn't lead to a temple?" Spirituality will carry on regardless.
In the end, what is the "Repentance" of the title? Merab's who realises how evil his grandfather was? Abel's who throws away Varlam's body? Ketevan's who regrets being unable to perform her imagined revenge? Others' lack of repentance? As the movie, the title encloses different levels of interpretation and remains partly mysterious.
Landmark film, but not without flaws
Andy-29616 April 2014
When in Soviet Georgia a woman named Keto is arrested for digging up the remains of Valam, the long time mayor of a small town, she defends herself recalling the terror created by the mayor when she was a child. Valam (played by Avtandil Makharadze) has a Hitler mustache but is clearly based on Lavrenti Beria, who before being head of the Soviet security services, was the top leader in Georgia, and under whose rule the worst part of the great purges happened (Beria was known for its particular cruelty). Keto's father was the painter Sandro Barateli (played by Edisher Giorgiobani, a redhead who looks like Vincent Van Gogh) who was arrested by Valam after he tried to protest the destruction of an ancient church (regarding the name, it might be worth noting that one notable victim of Beria was the theater director Sandro Akhmeteli).
This might be the most anti-communist film ever made in the Soviet Union, though its aesthetics are very much in the Soviet tradition of the Brezhnev era. I might be wrong, but I think this was the first time a Soviet film touched on the issue of the Stalinist "repressions". In a touching moment, Keto declares on the stand that such actions cannot be forgiven (this was filmed during a period in history where the repressions were hardly mentioned at the official press). It's amazing this film was even made. It was released in 1987 to wide acclaim after being shelved for several years. The movie goes beyond criticizing the "excesses" of Stalinism, but goes on to attack the heart of the Soviet system. On the minus side, the movie is sometimes overwrought and has a lot of surreal, bizarre touches, that are not always successful. And at around two hours and a half, the film is also too long, with parts that are a bit of a struggle.
This might be the most anti-communist film ever made in the Soviet Union, though its aesthetics are very much in the Soviet tradition of the Brezhnev era. I might be wrong, but I think this was the first time a Soviet film touched on the issue of the Stalinist "repressions". In a touching moment, Keto declares on the stand that such actions cannot be forgiven (this was filmed during a period in history where the repressions were hardly mentioned at the official press). It's amazing this film was even made. It was released in 1987 to wide acclaim after being shelved for several years. The movie goes beyond criticizing the "excesses" of Stalinism, but goes on to attack the heart of the Soviet system. On the minus side, the movie is sometimes overwrought and has a lot of surreal, bizarre touches, that are not always successful. And at around two hours and a half, the film is also too long, with parts that are a bit of a struggle.
Dated maybe but still masterpiece maybe
jerzym23 May 2004
For the first time I've seen this movie in 1988 under, rotting and toothless, but still red regime in little movie in Bytom, Poland. Without subtitles but only with man reading the dialogs from the book. Atmosphere was tensed and with the taste of conspiracy. This time Pokajanije was for me thrilling experience with breathtaking performance of Macharadze and Ninidze. Once again I watched it in TV few years later and I've found a little dated and emasculated in uncovering communist's crimes. But still it was great cinematic, beautifully filmed experience. Now, I've ordered DVD in dvdplanet (it's still unavailable in Poland) and I'm really curious for my nowadays impression.
25 dec 2004
Today I've watched the movie once again after the reading of Montefiore's book "Stalin - the court of the Red Tsar. In this book I've found the story of Kawtaradze family. Sergo Kawtaradze, old revolutionist and comrade of Stalin during the great purge, in 1936 was arrested with his wife Sofia. Both were cruelly tortured in Lubianka. Daughter Maya, 11 years old, wrote many letters to Stalin, begging for the parents' life. After 3 years of imprisonment Kawtaradzes were freed but still in danger of arresting again. Few weeks later suddenly at 6 AM Stalin & Beria came to Kawtaradzes. Stalin kindly spoke with daughter Maya. In her memories she wrote that he was charming and kind. He also sang a song with "pleasant tenor". They also ate dinner (Stalin ordered it in the best georgian restaurant in Moscow, Aragwi. I'm sure that episode in the movie when Warlam and Doxopulo visits Sandro's home is loosely based on this event
25 dec 2004
Today I've watched the movie once again after the reading of Montefiore's book "Stalin - the court of the Red Tsar. In this book I've found the story of Kawtaradze family. Sergo Kawtaradze, old revolutionist and comrade of Stalin during the great purge, in 1936 was arrested with his wife Sofia. Both were cruelly tortured in Lubianka. Daughter Maya, 11 years old, wrote many letters to Stalin, begging for the parents' life. After 3 years of imprisonment Kawtaradzes were freed but still in danger of arresting again. Few weeks later suddenly at 6 AM Stalin & Beria came to Kawtaradzes. Stalin kindly spoke with daughter Maya. In her memories she wrote that he was charming and kind. He also sang a song with "pleasant tenor". They also ate dinner (Stalin ordered it in the best georgian restaurant in Moscow, Aragwi. I'm sure that episode in the movie when Warlam and Doxopulo visits Sandro's home is loosely based on this event
eh
adriennenoracarter14 November 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Repentance is a film one would expect to come out of Perestroika and Glasnost. It is a Stalinist/early Soviet metaphor that would have never been seen before this time. The story begins in present day, or in this case 1984. In a small Georgian town, the mayor, Varlam Aravidze, dies. The seemingly important citizens of the community come to pay their condolences at his funeral. However, one day after the funeral, the corpse is found at the home of the mayor's son. The corpse is reburied . . . but is removed from the crypt a second and third time. A woman is taken into custody and put on trial. She admits to having done it; much of this part of the film is full of flashbacks focusing on Varlam's terrible reign, revealing her motives for having done it. Varlam looks like a combination of dictators. There are traces of Hitler (the mustache) and Mussolini (the black shirt), but of course he can also be compared to Stalin and Beria, two of the cruelest names known in Soviet history, both who were of Georgian origin. Varlam was the Stalinist figure, and the two other generations of his family could be considered a lot of the rest of Soviet history. His grandson clearly represents the period of Glasnost and Perestroika. He has trouble accepting what his family has done, and he commits suicide because of it (I'm sure it was not meant to be this way, but it could be considered a foreshadowing of the end of the Soviet Union). The son of Varlam is sort of everything in between Stalin and Perestroika (except the anti-Stalin Krushchev years).
This was a very interesting movie; it was a little too full of symbolism, but beautifully made. It was a very interesting change watching a Georgian Soviet film instead of a Russian made Soviet film.
This was a very interesting movie; it was a little too full of symbolism, but beautifully made. It was a very interesting change watching a Georgian Soviet film instead of a Russian made Soviet film.
A very good film
bbcd649 April 2001
This is a very good film. It works on several levels. I don't know whether this was intended by it's authors or no, but the general outline of the film has obvious Alice in the Wonderland (or Through the Looking-Glass) allusion. The confectioner woman imagines (or dreams about) a story of revenge and justice (a real cruel fairy tale adventure full of evil and good characters, colorful and strange images) and as in `Alice' right when the story gets kind of `out of control' (grandson kills himself with grandfathers riffle, son digs out the corpse of his father.) we get back to the cosy room of confectioner, from where our adventures to the past and future have begun.
It was really interesting to see the story of Totalitarian regime through this `fairy tale' angle. They make a lot of films that are meant to be much more historically precise than `Repentance', but most of them are flat and look more like TV dramatizations of some definite actual events than the works of art. And `Repentance' is an art-film in a very good sense of this word.
The closing sequence of Old Woman walking up the street (looking for the Temple - justice, freedom, happiness?) accompanied by heavenly classic music is one of the most beautiful film episodes I've ever seen.
It was really interesting to see the story of Totalitarian regime through this `fairy tale' angle. They make a lot of films that are meant to be much more historically precise than `Repentance', but most of them are flat and look more like TV dramatizations of some definite actual events than the works of art. And `Repentance' is an art-film in a very good sense of this word.
The closing sequence of Old Woman walking up the street (looking for the Temple - justice, freedom, happiness?) accompanied by heavenly classic music is one of the most beautiful film episodes I've ever seen.
Can you bury past evils?
JuguAbraham21 July 2008
All repressed societies tend look back at the horrors of the past with a twinkle in the eye. Tengiz Abuladdze's Monanieba (Repentance) uses black comedy, satire, allegory, magical realism, and surrealistic dream sequences, as the stones to tread on, offering the movies' viewers disturbing images to recall historical events of their own lifetime.
In a small town in Georgia, a mayor by the name of Varlam Aravidze dies. Eulogies are mouthed by very important and least important denizens of how great an individual he was. But his corpse keeps surfacing in his house, exhumed by unknown forces. Eventually, a woman baker who bakes the best cakes in town (with delicious church steeples as icing) is found to be the one who keeps exhuming the body each time it is buried and reburied. Three-fourths of the film revolves around on her motives for repeatedly exhuming the body. This is the section of the film that re-evaluates the tyrannical life of the dead man. The dead man's son Abel is reluctant to admit his father's evil acts but the dead man's grandson is ashamed of his grandfather's acts. The baker who had exhumed the body was directly affected by Varlam's tyranny and says she will not let the dead man be buried and is ready to accept the consequences. Her strange actions and what motivates them are allegorical of what Georgians endured during Stalin's rule in Soviet Russia. The three generations of Varlam's family depict the changing values within Soviet Russia, with winds of Perestroika and Glasnost blowing on the faces of the younger generations.
Repentance is the last film of the Georgian filmmaker Tengiz Abuladze, who died soon after the film was released. Repentance, like Klimov's Agoniya represents the Soviet movies that were released within Russia as Gorbachev unveiled Perestroika and Glasnost, allowing audiences to reflect on issues that they never dared to discuss in the open earlier.
The lead evil character Varlam Aravidze (translated as Varlam "nobody", a name chosen to escape the censors) is an amalgam of Hitler (moustache), Mussolini (black shirt), Stalin (haircut) and Lavrenti Beria (pince-nez spectacles). It is a political parable on the evils of dictators, when small-town bureaucrats use cunning and deceit to crush cultural values of art, and ethical values of religion, law and marriage. Historically, Stalin and Beria crushed the national spirit of Georgians targeting the intelligentsia and the Church. Abuladze was among the few that survived.
Repentance is a critique of Soviet history and assumes greater importance because it was made by a Soviet director and released in Soviet Union. The finest sequences of the film that would not be lost on East European audiences, in my opinion, were of a mother and child search for names of loved ones etched on logs that have been recently brought from Siberia, because political prisoners communicated with their families using this unusual method, and the final sequence of an old woman searching for the church (which has obviously been destroyed) in the empty town, a simple sequence that signifies hope for the future.
Death and consequent burial often indicates forgiveness. Didn't Mark Antony imply this when he said the dead is "oft interred with their bones" over Caesar's corpse? Abuladze's heroine Ketavan keeps exhuming the dead and buried corpse to expose the misdeeds of a despotic Stalinist hero (recalling Alea's bureaucrat in the annals of Cuban cinema) while baking cakes with symbolic church steeples on the icing (reference to the deep loss of theism and orthodox religion in Stalinist attempts to replace religion with science). Ketavan's father is an artist with features that resemble Western images of Christ. The evil figures relish hogging the church steeples on cake icing and cooked fish (a typical Christian symbol).
Abuladze's film approaches "repentance" by looking at evil squarely in the eye and not by sweeping it under the carpet. Interestingly this is the very approach that Hans-Jurgen Syberberg took while analyzing the rise of Hitler in his superb yet controversial 10-hour long documentary Hitler-A film from Germany. Abuladze's cinema like most Soviet filmmakers (Klimov, Tarkovsky, Kozintsev, Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky, Zvyagintsev, etc.) is built on values that Soviet citizens imbibed through the Russian Orthodox Church.
In Repentance, the new generation seems to accept the misdeeds of their tyrannical family members and seek repentance, while the older generation prefers to go to jail by exhuming tyrannical "heroes" and exposing their misdeeds. Both types of repentance make the film an interesting tool to study history of Soviet Russia. What is remarkable is that just as a parallel to the contents of the film, the directors and writers of Georgian cinema exhume the misdeeds of the past, and the new generation of film studio authorities and censors "repent" somewhat by releasing these films in theaters in Soviet Russia (including Georgia) and other nearby countries.
In Abuladze's film, surrealistic and satirical dream images of men putting flowers in a grand piano combine with images of a blindfolded woman with scales (symbolizing justice) playing the piano before being led way by a man in black, with white gloves. There is black comedy as tortured prisoners "name names" so that no one will be left without being a suspect and the jails will be full of suspects.
Abuladze has much to convey and at times seems to go over the top in his efforts to poke fun at tyranny. This is perhaps why Abuladze loses out to the more subtle works of Paradjanov (the most talented Georgian filmmaker), Tarkovsky, Kozintsev and Klimov, while driving home a similar message to the viewers. The cinema of Abuladze is more direct, while Tarkovsky and Kozintsev more circumspect and open-ended. But Abuladze's cinema is, without doubt, film making that will unsettle a viewer to think about life after the film ends. The question each viewer should ask is: Where are the Varlams that we encounter in life and can we rest by burying them?
In a small town in Georgia, a mayor by the name of Varlam Aravidze dies. Eulogies are mouthed by very important and least important denizens of how great an individual he was. But his corpse keeps surfacing in his house, exhumed by unknown forces. Eventually, a woman baker who bakes the best cakes in town (with delicious church steeples as icing) is found to be the one who keeps exhuming the body each time it is buried and reburied. Three-fourths of the film revolves around on her motives for repeatedly exhuming the body. This is the section of the film that re-evaluates the tyrannical life of the dead man. The dead man's son Abel is reluctant to admit his father's evil acts but the dead man's grandson is ashamed of his grandfather's acts. The baker who had exhumed the body was directly affected by Varlam's tyranny and says she will not let the dead man be buried and is ready to accept the consequences. Her strange actions and what motivates them are allegorical of what Georgians endured during Stalin's rule in Soviet Russia. The three generations of Varlam's family depict the changing values within Soviet Russia, with winds of Perestroika and Glasnost blowing on the faces of the younger generations.
Repentance is the last film of the Georgian filmmaker Tengiz Abuladze, who died soon after the film was released. Repentance, like Klimov's Agoniya represents the Soviet movies that were released within Russia as Gorbachev unveiled Perestroika and Glasnost, allowing audiences to reflect on issues that they never dared to discuss in the open earlier.
The lead evil character Varlam Aravidze (translated as Varlam "nobody", a name chosen to escape the censors) is an amalgam of Hitler (moustache), Mussolini (black shirt), Stalin (haircut) and Lavrenti Beria (pince-nez spectacles). It is a political parable on the evils of dictators, when small-town bureaucrats use cunning and deceit to crush cultural values of art, and ethical values of religion, law and marriage. Historically, Stalin and Beria crushed the national spirit of Georgians targeting the intelligentsia and the Church. Abuladze was among the few that survived.
Repentance is a critique of Soviet history and assumes greater importance because it was made by a Soviet director and released in Soviet Union. The finest sequences of the film that would not be lost on East European audiences, in my opinion, were of a mother and child search for names of loved ones etched on logs that have been recently brought from Siberia, because political prisoners communicated with their families using this unusual method, and the final sequence of an old woman searching for the church (which has obviously been destroyed) in the empty town, a simple sequence that signifies hope for the future.
Death and consequent burial often indicates forgiveness. Didn't Mark Antony imply this when he said the dead is "oft interred with their bones" over Caesar's corpse? Abuladze's heroine Ketavan keeps exhuming the dead and buried corpse to expose the misdeeds of a despotic Stalinist hero (recalling Alea's bureaucrat in the annals of Cuban cinema) while baking cakes with symbolic church steeples on the icing (reference to the deep loss of theism and orthodox religion in Stalinist attempts to replace religion with science). Ketavan's father is an artist with features that resemble Western images of Christ. The evil figures relish hogging the church steeples on cake icing and cooked fish (a typical Christian symbol).
Abuladze's film approaches "repentance" by looking at evil squarely in the eye and not by sweeping it under the carpet. Interestingly this is the very approach that Hans-Jurgen Syberberg took while analyzing the rise of Hitler in his superb yet controversial 10-hour long documentary Hitler-A film from Germany. Abuladze's cinema like most Soviet filmmakers (Klimov, Tarkovsky, Kozintsev, Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky, Zvyagintsev, etc.) is built on values that Soviet citizens imbibed through the Russian Orthodox Church.
In Repentance, the new generation seems to accept the misdeeds of their tyrannical family members and seek repentance, while the older generation prefers to go to jail by exhuming tyrannical "heroes" and exposing their misdeeds. Both types of repentance make the film an interesting tool to study history of Soviet Russia. What is remarkable is that just as a parallel to the contents of the film, the directors and writers of Georgian cinema exhume the misdeeds of the past, and the new generation of film studio authorities and censors "repent" somewhat by releasing these films in theaters in Soviet Russia (including Georgia) and other nearby countries.
In Abuladze's film, surrealistic and satirical dream images of men putting flowers in a grand piano combine with images of a blindfolded woman with scales (symbolizing justice) playing the piano before being led way by a man in black, with white gloves. There is black comedy as tortured prisoners "name names" so that no one will be left without being a suspect and the jails will be full of suspects.
Abuladze has much to convey and at times seems to go over the top in his efforts to poke fun at tyranny. This is perhaps why Abuladze loses out to the more subtle works of Paradjanov (the most talented Georgian filmmaker), Tarkovsky, Kozintsev and Klimov, while driving home a similar message to the viewers. The cinema of Abuladze is more direct, while Tarkovsky and Kozintsev more circumspect and open-ended. But Abuladze's cinema is, without doubt, film making that will unsettle a viewer to think about life after the film ends. The question each viewer should ask is: Where are the Varlams that we encounter in life and can we rest by burying them?
ponderous Iron Curtain parable
mjneu5929 December 2010
It's almost impossible to appreciate the extraordinary conditions which inspired this Soviet political allegory, and which (after four years in limbo) allowed it to finally be released. But is it worth the necessary mental arithmetic required to understand it as a native Russian might? Certainly the film is a worthwhile barometer of (then) current Soviet attitudes, but most of the dramatic potential in the scenario is wasted on transparent symbolism and too many ponderous soliloquies into the nature of sin and guilt. It wants to be a satire of Josef Stalin's bloody dictatorship, but the story is little more than a simple political fantasy, set in a nameless city where the corpse of the recently deceased mayor keeps reappearing in public, prompting several flashbacks to the tyranny and oppression of his life in power. The daring comparison of Stalin to Hitler must have been heady stuff for sheltered Soviet filmgoers, just then coming to grips with glasnost, but for the rest of us the most memorable aspect of the film might be its striking poster art.
Less known,yet brilliant
AudemarsPiguet20 February 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Repentance is yet another pleasant surprise among the large number of great European films. Like in Greek tragedy destiny haunts and twists the lives of the characters with endless and unseen power.The only one who defied destiny with a demonic hubris during his entire lifetime was the tyrannical patriarch Aravidze,but even he is weak in the face of death.That is,only after he dies and his body is constantly spirited away from his grave by an unseen hand(a brilliant parallel to Lenin,king Arthur-who actually never dies,only sleeps awaiting the moment when he is reclaimed and re-called by the living,Garcia Marquez's symbol of the eternal tyrant,another patriarch,who lives over two hundred years or again the Greek tragedy,where the gods were pleased and the ritual fulfilled,only if the dead were buried with all the honors. Aravidze,a Georgian like Stalin,though only the mayor of a town,is a ruthless social climber(the way totalitarianism attracts social climbers like the flames attract moths),who gradually becomes an absolute master of the town's inhabitants.Besides Stalin,the character bears a striking physical resemblance to Hitler and his rise reminds much of Hitler's:he exhaled strong personal magnetism,enchanted with powerful(even if somewhat Machiavellian)speeches,and,the more he became cruel,the more a certain petty-bourgeois crust worshiped him. Other similarities include Beria,not only being also a Georgian but also the actor depicting Aravidze looking just like him and a black shirt in Mussolini style.Strange and fascinating combination between four of the 20-th century's most influential dictators. In an age resembling both fictional 1984 and real historical periods,Aravidze surrounds himself with all the status symbols of power like a nouveau rich or a mafia boss:cruel henchmen,tasteless amounts of wealth and luxury,a mechanism of self-marketing including the cult of personality and hysterical public feasts. But the ultimate victims of this dictator,among many nameless and countless innocents,will be his own family,which not long after his death will be extinguished,ironically the only innocent member of this flawed clan,his grandson paying for his ancestor's faults by shooting himself in an unexpected act of conscience during a party including lots of champagne and music by Boney M as an highly artistic and grotesque contrast of lavish,explosive gaiety versus his haunted&troubled mind(similarly to this,present generations were intoxicated with the feeling of guilt for communism,fascism or the holocaust,only for being the descendants of the guilty ones). The excessive use of marble does not suggest as much luxury,it rather creates a cold,unfamiliar mood similar to the futuristic,minimalistic settings in Russell's The Devils:a mechanized,haunting universe where humanity is doomed. The journey in the underworld reaches the same artistic level like Dante's inferno,Dali's paintings or T.S.Eliot's poetry.The ending if brilliant-the slow,long shot of the road reminds of the closing scene from Visconti's Gattopardo;like the old desolate streets and decaying baroque buildings of Palermo,this road is a reminder of universal frailty,often useless search for justice and repentance and the inevitability and strange fascination of death.
Repentance
Ivane7 September 2004
Warning: Spoilers
The action takes place in the USSR province of Georgia, today. Varlam Aravidze's funeral has been a very solemn ceremony. And yet, the very next day, his body is dug up and dumped into his son Avel's garden. Buried once again, the body is once again unearthed, as if this man's corpse was destined not to rest in peace.
The culprit is soon found. Ketevan Barateli is dragged to court where a long flash-back shows us the persecutions her family had to endure under the dictator. He persecuted her father, her mother, who have since both disappeared and then Ketevan herself, with a cruelty sadistic and pervert.
The trial brings to light the truth about a man who was but the mayor of a small town but whose personality and behaviour bring to mind both Mussolini and Hitler, as well as Stalin and Beria.
Varlams Grandson commits suicide when he discovers the truth about his grandfather and denial of everything by his father.
And still the dictator's corpse cannot rest in peace...
Varlam & Avel Aravidze is played by Avtandil Makharadze. Brilliant performance - one of the best dictator faces ever done.
The culprit is soon found. Ketevan Barateli is dragged to court where a long flash-back shows us the persecutions her family had to endure under the dictator. He persecuted her father, her mother, who have since both disappeared and then Ketevan herself, with a cruelty sadistic and pervert.
The trial brings to light the truth about a man who was but the mayor of a small town but whose personality and behaviour bring to mind both Mussolini and Hitler, as well as Stalin and Beria.
Varlams Grandson commits suicide when he discovers the truth about his grandfather and denial of everything by his father.
And still the dictator's corpse cannot rest in peace...
Varlam & Avel Aravidze is played by Avtandil Makharadze. Brilliant performance - one of the best dictator faces ever done.
It takes a very careful watching to truly understand all of the symbols of the film.
pgma14-901-60405319 January 2014
This film was absolute genius and, in my opinion, one of the best films produced in the 20th century. It is on par with films like the Seventh Seal and Schindler's List in terms of symbolism and philosophy. The only way one can not like this film is if one does not understand it- which is quite possible, if one is only haphazardly watching it and is not fully engaged, or is expecting the film to chew up the messages for you and give you something simple you can quickly take away without actually appreciating the movie- then this is the wrong film for you. In order to properly appreciate this film you have to engage in higher philosophical thought and reflect both on the lives of individuals of the Stalinist era as well as your own era, since this movie is timeless. It explores human nature at its basest level, and what causes humans to act in the ways they do.
revelation
Kirpianuscus28 July 2015
for me, as viewer from East, in 1990 , it was an revelation. not as cold portrait of totalitarian regime. not as page from the indictment against the Communism.but as reflection of its essence. a film who reflects and reminds the history of Europe. using a memorable character who has the gift to seduce and horrify. Varlaam is the image of a system. and not it is the subject in fact but the testimony who defines the others. a film about redemption and about memory. about the change and about the rules of dictatorship. extraordinaries images. and the hill of the Abuladze's fight for his art. it is easy to discover it as a beautiful, profound, philosophical film. but, in fact, it is only a testimony about a world's survive. not a parable. not sketch of a cruel regime. but a form of remember of people, values, sacrifices and the empty body of a dictatorship. for me, in 1990, it was a revelation. and, today, it has the same status. because, more than a story about evil, it is a warning about the importance of decision.
Cinema at its best
grendel-289 April 1999
It made history, but is it worth watching?
andrew.yorke3 January 2001
When this film was passed by the Soviet censors, it was the most striking evidence yet that Gorbachev's glasnost was going to change profoundly the artistic climate in the Soviet Union. Supposedly, then-Soviet foreign minister (and current president of Georgia) Shevardnadze got it passed by Moscow as a favour to the director. For an account of this, read David Remnick's "Lenin's Tomb". The film was a blatant attack on two of Georgia's most famous historical villains - Stalin and Beria - and on dictatorship in general. Its moral force is indisputable. But its historical significance outweighs its artistic merit. Its grotesque and heavy symbolism pays tribute to Fellini but the film lacks its own artistic voice.
Georgia on my mind
lee_eisenberg15 January 2017
Joseph Stalin's purges were one of the most horrific chapters in Soviet history. A famous movie about this period is Nikita Mikhalkov's "Burnt by the Sun". An equally important one is Tengiz Abuladze's "Repentance". This one emphasizes not only the terror visited upon the population, but the efforts to expose the truth and prevent whitewashing of those who committed the genocide. The subject is a man who shares physical similarities with Hitler and Stalin, but is based on Lavrentiy Beria (one of Stalin's acolytes). As mayor of a town in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, he doesn't hesitate to persecute those whom he deems disloyal. Years later, a woman goes to unusual lengths to reveal the truth about his handiwork.
Not surprisingly, the movie couldn't get released immediately. It wasn't until after Gorbachev came to power that it got a release. I'd say that the ugly parts of history are more important to know about that the pleasant parts of history, to ensure that they don't get repeated. I understand that Beria was particularly vicious.
We don't get to see many movies from Georgia. I wish that I could see more of them. Part of it is that I like getting to see cultures that we don't often get to see, but I would also like to have more insight into their perspective on things. As the 2008 war made clear, Russo-Georgian tensions didn't end with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Anyway, it's an outstanding movie. While it is a bit long, the plot makes up for that. I recommend it.
Not surprisingly, the movie couldn't get released immediately. It wasn't until after Gorbachev came to power that it got a release. I'd say that the ugly parts of history are more important to know about that the pleasant parts of history, to ensure that they don't get repeated. I understand that Beria was particularly vicious.
We don't get to see many movies from Georgia. I wish that I could see more of them. Part of it is that I like getting to see cultures that we don't often get to see, but I would also like to have more insight into their perspective on things. As the 2008 war made clear, Russo-Georgian tensions didn't end with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Anyway, it's an outstanding movie. While it is a bit long, the plot makes up for that. I recommend it.
At first sight...
Vincentiu10 January 2012
At first sight it is movie of one actor. Axis of grotesque world, master of hideous mask, puppeteer of essence of every dictator, Avtandil Makharidze is great in this parable-satire about power and pure cruelty. At first sight it is movie of its director, result of need to confess events of dark years, to cry - king is naked ! - after a deep and large silence. At first sight it is a gray fairy -tale in which monster is killed by delivery of truth. A woman for who past is blood of present. A cake, an artist, ruins of existences, look of nephew, a trial. At first sight it is tale about Varlaam. In fact it is only a masterpiece.
Paranoid Community
gentendo7 April 2008
Warning: Spoilers
A community governed by paranoia, injustice and revenge exposes the truth of those who hide behind certain pretenses while revealing the false accusations of those who stand for justice. It is a community that has mistaken that which is good for that which is evil. The people within the community have been duped by a powerful political figure named Varlam. Though his actions and motives from the outside appear interested in the common good, on the inside he is really a menacing tyrant who stops at nothing for possession of absolute power and control. He is representative of many cultural tyrants throughout the agesHitler, Mussolini, and Stalin. When challenged by the commoner, he unjustly oppresses them; stripping them of their rights and in worst case scenarios, killing them (very similar to every other tyranny in history). All this is done in order to maintain the status quo. Two primary characters who challenge Varlam and his governing despotism are Sandro and his daughter Keti. Both see through the governing façade and seek to expose Varlam's deceit to the common people. However, most within the community conform to a type of herd-mentality; never questioning the governing morality but always blindly obeying the powers at hand. Sandro and Keti are those who are falsely accused by Varlam due to his fear of losing political standing in the eyes of the people. Both are imprisoned: Sandro for revolutionary artwork; Keti for unceasingly digging up Varlam's dead body. The irony, then, is casted upon the dichotomy between those in the community who revere Varlam as a political demigod (e.g. as seen by those who mourn at his death) versus those who see him as he really isa manipulative and insatiable power monger. Comparing this community to those of the past and present, it varies with an interesting dynamic: Governments that do not have security checks and balances will always become corrupt, causing the people to mourn. Interestingly enough, however, though the government in this film was corrupt, the majority populace did not seem to notice. Ironically, then, when Varlam dies the people do not celebrate in delight of becoming free, but instead mourn because they believe that they had lost a great political leader.
The community also displays an interesting clash between church and state. "State" in this sense, can be more properly rendered as science. Thus, then, is the battle between religion and science. A recording of Albert Einstein's last public address helps capture the essence of this battle during a particular dream sequence: Man's drive for science will cause him to create weapons of destruction upon himself less he finds a spirituality higher source of strength. This spiritually higher sense of living is captured through the film's theme of repentancechanging from one state of being to another. Religion seems to be the spiritual strength of the community. The passion to keep religion alive in the community is explicitly demonstrated during Sandro's appeal to Varlam in hopes that he'll extinguish certain lab-experiments from the church's monumental sites. Though Sandro's appeal is promised to be fulfilled, it is here that Varlam begins to suspect Sandro of revolutionary ideas. Not till later in the film when Varlam, unknown to the public, burns down the church does it seem that the gross secular world is taking over. The God of religion is losing its voice while the God of politicsVarlamis securing his voice as to what is supreme. The old lady's comment at the end of the film implies what the importances of churches are: "What good is a road if it doesn't lead to a church?" Churches are symbols of spiritual places in which to worship God. If man made roads are not built in ways that would lead to spiritual roads of God, what hope does man have of ever getting anywhere in life? If a community is built upon the belief in God, they are more likely to prosper due to recognizing how little they can achieve on their own. With the help of God in their lives, all things are possible.
The community also displays an interesting clash between church and state. "State" in this sense, can be more properly rendered as science. Thus, then, is the battle between religion and science. A recording of Albert Einstein's last public address helps capture the essence of this battle during a particular dream sequence: Man's drive for science will cause him to create weapons of destruction upon himself less he finds a spirituality higher source of strength. This spiritually higher sense of living is captured through the film's theme of repentancechanging from one state of being to another. Religion seems to be the spiritual strength of the community. The passion to keep religion alive in the community is explicitly demonstrated during Sandro's appeal to Varlam in hopes that he'll extinguish certain lab-experiments from the church's monumental sites. Though Sandro's appeal is promised to be fulfilled, it is here that Varlam begins to suspect Sandro of revolutionary ideas. Not till later in the film when Varlam, unknown to the public, burns down the church does it seem that the gross secular world is taking over. The God of religion is losing its voice while the God of politicsVarlamis securing his voice as to what is supreme. The old lady's comment at the end of the film implies what the importances of churches are: "What good is a road if it doesn't lead to a church?" Churches are symbols of spiritual places in which to worship God. If man made roads are not built in ways that would lead to spiritual roads of God, what hope does man have of ever getting anywhere in life? If a community is built upon the belief in God, they are more likely to prosper due to recognizing how little they can achieve on their own. With the help of God in their lives, all things are possible.
"what good is a road if it does not lead to church?
samxxxul15 November 2020
A witty, offbeat, surreal, and dark satire from Georgian director Tengiz Abuladze which is the final in his Trilogy. The film opens with newspaper obituary recording of the passing of the dictator Varlam Aravidze, the mayor of a town in Georgia with a Hitler moustache, Mussolini shirt & braces, Stalin boots, Beria pince-nez). The film shifts from a courtroom drama with multiple flashbacks and surreal imageries supported with nightmarish allusion to Stalin's terror and a highlight of perestroika. It captures Varlam's rise to power and we are introduced to a surreal world where all logic takes place through the 'conscious' of this man and the deteriorating political circumstances around him. A bold film, a critique of Stalinism in Soviet history appreciating cultural values and my favourite film by T. Abuladze. Must been seen by all cinema lovers.
A hermetic film for Americans (SPOILERS!)
zardoz1213 April 2002
Warning: Spoilers
Only history buffs will understand "Monanieba"; most Americans under 60 will get the gist only. The idea of combining the traits (some only physical) of Stalin, Beria, Mussolini, and Hitler was an interesting move, universalizing - if only in a European sense - the tyranny of Varlam. The fact that he is only the mayor of a town, and yet able to act like a national dictator (sending people to slave labor at logging camps, rounding them up in mass imprisonment, speaking of how he embodies the fatherland, etc.) increases the general surrealistic bent. The government becomes something amorphous; modern in its methods, archaic in the way those methods are achieved (the midaeval knights as secret policemen/soldiers, the use of carriages to cart victims off), something that is both small and large at the same time. I like the fact that Varlam's corpse is constantly unearthed and yet never rots; a possible reference to Lenin's Tomb. That the new mayor is a dwarfish man may also be read as a commentary on how Soviet leaders after Stalin could never recapture the man's pitiless strength or his shadow over the Soviet citizenry. In the end, "Monanieba" is one Georgian's apology for another's deeds.
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