Monanieba (1984)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Tengiz Abuladze

Writers:

Tengiz Abuladze (writer)
Nana Dzhanelidze (writer)

Release Date:

1984 (Soviet Union)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The day after the fumeral of Varlam Aravidze, the mayor of a small Georgian town, his corpse turns up in his son's garden and is secretly reburied...

Plot Keywords:

Son | Mayor | Celebration | Nun | Burial

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 10 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Avtandil Makharadze	...	Varlam Aravidze / Abel Aravidze
Ya Ninidze	...	Guliko
Zeinab Botsvadze	...	Ketevan Barateli
Ketevan Abuladze	...	Nino Barateli
Edisher Giorgobiani	...	Sandro Barateli
Kakhi Kavsadze	...	Mikheil Koresheli
Merab Ninidze	...	Tornike
Nino Zaqariadze	...	Elene Korisheli
Nano Ochigava	...	Ketevan as a child
Boris Tsipuria
Akaki Khidasheli
Leo Antadze		(as Levan Antadze)
Rezo Esadze
Mzia Makhviladze		(as M. Makhazadze)
Amiran Amiranashvili

Also Known As:

Покаяние (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Pokayanie (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Repentance (USA)

Runtime:

153 min

Country:

Georgia | Soviet Union

Language:

Georgian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Company:

Qartuli Pilmi

Trivia:

Director Tengiz Abuladze stated that the idea to this film was based on a real incident (a local dignitary's corpse being exhumed and placed at the family's porch in the western Georgian region of Mingrelia).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the surrealist scene where the painter (Sandro Barateli) and the disgraced official (Mikheil Koresheli) meet and Mikheil explains the absurd charges for which he is being tried, a jet airplane can be heard passing overhead.

Dated maybe but still masterpiece maybe

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