Monanieba (1984)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Tengiz Abuladze

Writers:

Tengiz Abuladze (writer)
Nana Dzhanelidze (writer)
(more)

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
Dato Kemkhadze	...	Abel as a child
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Veriko Andjaparidze
R. Baramidze
Amiran Buadze
Dato Dvalishvili		(as David Dvalishvili)
Ioseb Gogichaishvili
G. Gogoberidze
N. Javakhishvili		(as N. Zhavakishvili)
Mikheil Jojua		(as M. Zhozhua)
Marina Kakhiani		(as M. Kakhyani)
Lia Kapanadze
Zurab Kavtaradze
Beso Khidasheli
Kh. Khouba
Rusudan Kiknadze
T. Koshkadze
Kote Makharadze		(as K. Makhazadze)
Paliko Nozadze		(as P. Nozadze)
G. Otarashvili
Dato Papuashvili
Tristan Saralidze
M. Shembeli
Shota Skhirtladze
T. Tavaryani
Tamari Tsitsishvili
Yuri Vasadze

Directed by
Tengiz Abuladze

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Tengiz Abuladze		writer
Nana Dzhanelidze		writer
Rezo Kveselava		writer

Original Music by
Nana Dzhanelidze

Cinematography by
Mikhail Agranovich

Film Editing by
Guliko Omadze

Production Design by
Giorgi Miqeladze

Set Decoration by
Navruz Abdul-ogli

Makeup Department
Guram Barnabishvili	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Leomer Gugushvili	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ts. Jervalidze	....	assistant director
P. Milorava	....	assistant director
L. Tsipuriya	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Dimitri Gedevanishvili	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Giorgi Gersamia	....	camera operator
Guram Sadzaglishvili	....	camera operator
Valeri Shaveri	....	camera operator
Solomon Shenzelia	....	camera operator

Other crew
Nana Dzhanelidze	....	associate director
Suliko Gabisonia	....	associate director
Neli Kutateladze	....	associate director

Production Companies

• Qartuli Pilmi (production support)
• Qartuli Telepilmi
• Sovexportfilm

Distributors

• Cannon Film Distributors (1987) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Zazie Films (2008) (Japan) (theatrical)
• América Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Media Home Entertainment (1988) (USA) (video)
• Moskwood Media (1998) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Moskwood Media (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• RUSCICO (2004) (worldwide) (DVD)
• Video Treasures (1990) (USA) (video)

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.

A very good film

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.