13 Tzameti
|
List Price: Our Price: $22.49 You Save: $2.50 (10%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of 13 Tzameti
Movie Review: 13 Tzameti
Summary: 5 Stars
This nail-biting existential thriller is based on actual incidents involving murder and high-rolling bettors. Filmed in stark, pristine black-and-white, "13 Tzameti" builds suspense first around S?bastien's journey to a series of rendezvous points, the end result of which he is clueless about. Meanwhile, he's being tailed by a group of undercover cops, for reasons that are equally opaque. Babluani turns this cryptic game of cat and mouse into a running nightmare of cold-blooded tension. If you're in the mood for chilling suspense, place your bet on "13 Tzameti."Movie Review: NOTHING MORE THAN A GAME, A DEADLY GAME.
Summary: 5 Stars
Among the multiple awards won by G?la Babluani's 13 TZAMETI, you can find the 2006 European Discovery of the Year award, the Grand Jury Prize of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and two major awards of the 2005 Venice Film festival. Not bad for a first film and, above all, these are fully deserved awards. 13 TZAMETI is simply the best movie I've seen so far this year.
Don't be afraid, this movie is NOT reserved to festivals aficionados or shortsighted pseudo-intellectuals. It's a contemporary film noir that should please any movie lover. 13 TZAMETI is fast-paced, tense, suspenseful and tragic and its main theme, unfortunately based on real events, reminded me some scenes of another very interesting film: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's Intacto. 13 TZAMETI is unquestionably a must and I can't but recommend it to you. You won't be disappointed.
A DVD zone your library. Now.
Movie Review: A lucky number for discerning viewers
Summary: 4 Stars
It's a shame that the packaging for this film, not to mention the information on this page, gives away so much of the plot. I was fortunate enough to see it without knowing anything about it. A poor, hard-working roofer (George Babluani) takes a chance on an opportunity to earn some big money. Soon, he finds that he is in way over his head. This thriller quietly builds to some unbearably tense scenes of inhumanity and greed. Director Gela Babluani maintains suspense by keeping the viewer as ignorant as his protagonist, presenting a stark, colorless world in which the powerful gamble the lives of the poor with impunity.Movie Review: You Will Be "Tzameti" Which Means "13": Fascinating and Intense
Summary: 4 Stars
"Tzameti" means "13" in the language of Georgia, European country where G?la Babluani, director of this fascinating film, is born. In "13 Tzameti" you see S?bastien, 22-year-old Georgian immigrant living somewhere in France (played by George Babluani, director's brother) struggling for his and his family's livelihood. One day S?bastien accidentally obtains a recciept of hotel reservation and a one-way ticket to Paris, and he decides to use it, knowing that it belongs to someone else, who was talking about big money. What S?bastien did not know is that its real destination is a remote mansion where the world's strangest and deadliest `game' is going to be held.
After reading the film's curious story, some might remember Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's "Intacto," but actually "Tzameti", shot in black and white and with the minimum amount of dialogues, reminded me of the classic European films like Roman Polanski and Louis Malle. "Tzameti" slowly builds up the tension with carefully shot scenes and taut editing, and its pure tension reaches the highest when it finally introduces the `game' that is done with ritualistic accuracy. The cold, matter-of-factness of the game makes a great contrast with the haggard faces of S?bastien.
Some may think "Tzameti" needs a different ending. I am not sure if the present one is the best way to conclude the story which is far from predictable. Perhaps we will know the answer when a Hollywood remake is made (yes, they do ... again). At the time of writing, G?la Babluani is scheduled to direct it himself in 2008.
"Tzameti" defines easy categorization, but I can say its attractive photography of the bleak world and the undiluted intensity without showing blood is something you rarely see. It is truly a refreshing experience.
Movie Review: This movie exercise tension......and it hurts.
Summary: 4 Stars
"13" is a wonderfully economical thriller, clocking in at a friendly 95 minutes, which starts off slow and gentle, then gradually ricochet its tension towards the end. The main character S?bastien (played by the director's brother George Babluani) is a typical hard working roofer struggling to put food on the table for his family, so when he overhears conversations of easy Euro while toiling on his employer's roof his curiosity is naturally stirred. But before he knows what is happening he finds himself stuck in the middle of the French countryside, face to face with a ring of clandestine gamblers who bet on human lives for fun. Unable to back out, Sebastian then embarks on the ultimate game of chance, as he is forced into a 13 man Russian Roulette playoff where only one will survive. Each round has less men, more bullets and higher stakes. S?bastien's urgent need to escape rises along with the chances of his demise as he is forced to participate in stripping away more competition.
"13 Tzameti" is filmed on black and white stock which at first glance could be dismissed as an attempt to make an art house feature. However, the black and white presentation instead works to lessen the violence with grey blood and thus draws us to focus on the characters and the game from their perspective, where killing becomes a means to an end (and a way to make some money). Each character's convincing performance makes the events more real and while the bodies are cleared, you are left to reflect on the question of whether you can take another man's life or have yours taken.
Whether or not these games are real, the inhumanity of the protagonists, and the awfulness of the situation that Sebastian finds himself in are totally believable. Babluani's brilliant direction lays groundwork for the story itself to build the tension naturally rather than prompting viewers by artificial means such as soundtrack (which is all too common to see in film). Instead, the subtle score advances the film without interfering and completes "13 Tzameti" as a uniquely chilling thriller amongst the standard fare in mainstream cinema. Such a strong d?but from G?la Babluani can only indicate the beginning of many more features from this young director, and with threats of a Hollywood remake make sure you see the original.