Film Review
Three generations of women failing to connect in a world of change and uncertainty forms
the basis for Julie Bertuccelli's first film, an engaging social-realist drama which,
despite its apparent simplicity, seems to be loaded with meaning.
In some respects,
Depuis qu'Otar est parti is an allegory for life in the former Soviet Union countries one generation after
the fall of the Berlin Wall. Eka, the idealistic grandmother, represents the past
- she can recall only the glories of earlier times, the Russian Empire under the tsars
and then the Soviet Union under Stalin. Ada is the present, the modern youth of
an East Europe hankering after the fruits of capitalism, who sees nothing good in the
crumbling legacy of Soviet rule. Caught between these two is Marina, the in-between
generation who has seen the collapse of Communism but has little faith in capitalism to
improve matters. Marina is the most pitiful of the three women, because she, unlike
her mother and daughter, is stuck in the reality of her present situation. Disillusioned,
she has neither the comfort of past memories nor faith for a better future.
The experiences of these three women and their view of the world around them shape
how they react to the loss of the beloved fourth family member, Otar. Eka transforms
him into a demi-god, something to be worshipped from a distance, Marina is at best ambivalent
towards him, at worst resentful, whilst Ada sees him as little more than an abstract role
model - she doesn't have any real emotional attachment for him but he inspires her to
seek a better life for herself. It is a simple portrayal of three women coping with
life in a world that appears to have lost its sense of purpose, of three women who find
it hard to communicate and live together, but who appear to be bound together forever
by the web of deceit they weave for themselves as they try to reconcile their own needs
with what they believe to be in the best interests of the family - or rather, what remains
of it (the male family members are conspicuous by their absence).
After working as an assistant on half a dozen films that
include Krzysztof Kieslowski's
Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993)
and Bertrand Tavernier's
L'Appât (1995),
Julie Bertuccelli earned a reputation as a documentary film maker, and
Depuis qu'Otar est parti has the feel of a documentary, with some austere cinematography,
bleak natural locations and rigorously naturalistic performances. It makes
a surprising contrast with her more recent film, the allegorical fable
The Tree (2010).
Esther Gorintin (a 90-year-old former dental assistant) is particularly memorable in the role of the grandmother Eka,
an understated yet exceptionally poignant portrayal of old age. The film won the
award in the Best First Fictional Film category at the 2004 Césars.
© James Travers 2007
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Film Synopsis
Whilst her brother Otar is illegally employed as a construction worker in Paris, Marina
remains in her hometown of Tblisi, Georgia. She lives with her elderly mother, Eka,
who is devoted to Otar, and daughter Ada. When Marina learns that her brother has
been killed in an accident, she is unable to break the news to her mother, and so engages
Ada in a scheme to ensure she never finds out. However, Eka soon senses that something
is wrong and decides to visit her son in Paris…
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.