13 Tzameti
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Movie Reviews of 13 Tzameti
Movie Review: Takes a while to get started, but when it does, look out.
Summary: 4 Stars
13 Tzameti (Gela Babulani, 2005)
There's been something recently about foreign crime films-- The Memory of a Killer, Intacto, The Beat My Heart Skipped, and 13 Tzameti, among others. I don't know what it is, but all the sudden the Europeans are growin' 'em big over there. They're certainly better than anything in the genre we're pumping out over here (did you, too, have the distinct displeasure of actually paying money to see The Black Dahlia?).
13 Tzameti's glacial beginning in no way prepares you for what's to come. The story concerns Sebastien (George Babulani, in his first screen appearance), a laborer who's repairing a roof for Jean-Francois Godon (Philippe Passon). After Godon dies and Sebastien finds out he's not going to get paid for the job, he nicks a letter he heard Godon talking about, which promises a good deal of money. He follows the instructions therein and gets to the destination. That's when things really take off (about halfway through the film), but no other reviewers are talking about what he finds there, so I'm not going to spoil it for you; you'll have to watch the movie yourself to find out. Believe me, it's worth it.
The film won a Grand Jury prize at Sundance, and it was well-deserved. The languid opening scenes, in which many people rush around without actually doing anything (under the presumption, I guess, that the busier you look, the busier you'll actually be), set up the second half of the film, in which everyone is as languid as Godon, the counterpoint to the first half of the film, was there, but in which a great deal is going on. Sebastien himself is less character than symbol; he is there for a purpose, and the movie's final scene underlines this in the starkest possible way. That he was not the person who was meant to be there says something, I'm sure, about the state of the world and the interchangeability of its inhabitants, but I'm not the guy to go delving into deep meanings (I heard someone describe this film as a depiction of the global economy; I'm not even going to try and make that parallel). All I can tell you is that 13 Tzameti is an exceptional crime film, and if you've been wondering where all the good crime films went, all I can tell you is go east, young man. The Europeans are doing them very well these days. ****
Movie Review: 4 ? Stars: Intense and eerie, a clever existential thriller...
Summary: 4 Stars
13 TZAMETI is a French film directed by Gela Babluani, which won numerous awards in the Sundance and Venice film festivals. Shot in its entirety in Black and White, the film takes "Russian Roulette" to the extreme and takes an uncompromising look at existentialism and cold human emotion. It is also wicked in its views on its metaphor for the global economy.
Plot synopsis derived from the dvd back cover:
22 year-old Sebastien (Georges Babluani) leads a impoverished life constantly struggling to support his immigrant family. While repairing the roof of a neighbor's house, he overhears a conversation about a forthcoming package which promises to make the household rich. Sensing the opportunity of a lifetime, Sebastien intercepts the package that contains a series of veiled instructions.
Following the cryptic clues, he assumes a false identity and manages to slip through the grasp of the encroaching police as he ventures deeper towards the unknown. The closer he gets to his destination, the lesser he understands. Ultimately, he comes face to face with a perverse ring of gamblers placing bets on a depraved game of chance where the spoils are unimaginable millions and the losses are counted in lives.
13 Tzameti is an intense emotion-driven thriller that barely gave me a chance to catch my breath. The images in the film are truly cold and dark, the camera angling is almost flawless as the director takes us in a sinister world of underground gambling. The pressure and fear that the lead actor expresses in the proceedings are very convincing and takes the viewer in the middle of the action. I would hate to spoil the film by giving away details so I will just break it down into its themes: 13 players with guns lined up in a circle, guns are loaded with more bullets as the "contest" progresses. More risks, more money. 13 Tzameti is a triumphant existential noirish thriller that also plays like a morality play but doesn't hold back in psychosomatic masochism.
I have to commend the film-makers in going with the Black and White style in its filming. It truly represented the bleakness of the situation and the insignificance of the players and gamblers. The lack of color also helps in reproducing the colorless aspect of Sebastien's life as well as giving the film a seedy, dark and eerie atmosphere throughout the proceedings.
Emotions run high in a film like this and every emotion are carefully expressed by the screenplay. However, cold and unrelenting the premise of the film is, the director still manages to pull off a fierce assault on our senses that is very well executed. There are a lot of subtle details to be had with the film that I can barely take my eyes off it. The film is definitely stripped down of any lush cinematography that perfectly complements its gruesome premise.
If the film had one fault, it would be that the eerie aura that it exhibited in the first half couldn't be maintained. Also, some of the supporting characters become a little transparent until their perversity becomes displayed on screen.
Ultimately, 13 TZAMETI is a worthwhile film that really impressed me with its simplicity and lack of cliched dialogue, and the way it managed to avoid a prudish finale. I will be looking for more of Gela Babluani, I became truly impressed with this work. Dark, eerie and gritty, 13 Tzameti is a winner take all thrill-ride that kept me glued to my coach for its whole entirety.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! [4 ? Stars]
Movie Review: A New Level of Terror
Summary: 5 Stars
How does one categorize this chilling film from France? Is it a crime drama? Partly, as a police investigation is involved, and dead bodies pile up. Is it a thriller? Partly, as it will have you on the edge of your chair. Is it a horror tale? Partly, as you come face to face with the terrifying situation that the young man in the film finds himself in. The fact that the picture is shot in black and white also adds to the intensity of the story, which unfolds slowly but unrelentingly to the monstrous event which is the central part of the plot. If you choose to rent this film, be sure to watch the DVD extra that is an interview with a man who actually does what is portrayed here-a gamble that is a matter of life or death. I had no idea that this sort of thing takes place in various spots around the world-if anything, that is probably the most shocking part of it all. The film is in French, and by all means watch it with the subtitles turned on, so that you catch the emotions the real voices convey-to me a dubbed soundtrack cannot match the original, especially in a film of this type. One last thing-after seeing this film you will never look at a light bulb the same way again.
Movie Review: Gripping, Intense French Film!
Summary: 4 Stars
Actually, is this a French or Georgian film? Or a film made in France by a Georgian family? Regardless, this is a very intense, well-paced black and white movie about the sad state of human nature.
Sebastien (Georges Babluani) is an immigrant roofer from Georgia who is helping to assist his family survive in France. While working on a job, Sebastien overhears his employer, Mr. Godon, talking about a letter coming for him that will bring a large amount of money. The next day, the envelope comes, and Mr. Godon is excited. He is so excited that he takes a bath, shoots himself with Morphine, and dies. By a "breeze of fate" the envelope arrives to Sebastien, who decides to open it. Inside is a train ticket and an invitation to a hotel. Sebastien decides to take Mr. Godon's identity, and go to the hotel. The earlier promise of big money weighs on Sebastien, and he sees it as a way to help his family. With various cryptic messages sent to Sebastien, eventually he winds up at a house in the woods on some lonely wood. Anyone who watches movies, knows this is never good. To say anymore, would ruin the rest of the movie. However, it is one intense viewing, that will have you focused until the end credits. I agree with a couple other viewers, in that you should only read so much of the reviews here, as it will otherwise spoil your experience. I did, and the experience, I believe, was much more intense and surprising. I will say just one more small tidbit. The announcer, for what happens inside the house, puts on a great performance. He definitely loves his job.
The movie is directed by first-time Gela Babluani. Yes, Gela and Sebastien are brothers. I usually like color movies better, but I liked the b&w here. It added to the atmosphere of the movie and tenseness of the characters and storyline.
There are some cool extra's on the DVD:
* Deleted scenes: definitely add to the movie and storyline
* Testimony of a Survivor : an interview with the other survivor of the game.
* Cast & Crew Interviews: 3 interviews with Georges Babluani (Sebastien), Aurelien Recoing (Player #6), and Gela Babluani (the writer and director). Gela has an interesting interview, especially where he talks about the transition from Georgia to France.
* The Design Contest: how contestants were asked to design the cover of the DVD.
* Sunday's Game: May be as good or better than the movie itself! A short film about 5 elderly women and their "game" on a Sunday! Graphic, intense, and humorous all at the same time.
* US and French trailers
* Palm Pictures Previews
Highly worth watching, and a good addition to your DVD library! I have been recommending the film to my friends, as I do not believe a whole lot of people have heard of it. I am glad I found it here on Amazon!
Movie Review: High Tone Torture Porn for the Art House Circuit
Summary: 2 Stars
There are few movies that go over the line for me - this was one of them. All else having been said about the plot synopsis, which if you're reading this, you're likely already acquainted with, the film features some fine technical production values, great cinematography and instinctively spot-on casting. So what's not to like? At it's core, 13 is an undeniably calculated, cruel piece of cinematic sensationalism, certainly slicker and more intelligent than the current crop of Saws and Hostels that serve as disposable screen fodder at the multi-plexes (though this is faint praise), but ultimately cut from the same cloth as them and just as emotionally corrosive if not more so. Cruel spectacle may be the stock-in-trade for commerical film making at the moment - and 13 certainly is clever, if not of the fashion - but none of this conceals the hollowness within, or the film's fundamental inability to find genuine purpose or clarity in its ghastly depiction of the underground roulette society except as high tone exploitation. Be wary of those who applaud the film as though slapping a high minded, high moral pedigree on it. Or because of its arty, neo-realist b&w packaging. See it for what it is: not as a depiction of emotional and spiritual bankruptcy, but rather, as a manipulation of it.