Tue May 6, 2014
Tangerines, Zaza Urushadze (Estonia/Georgia, 2013)
SEE EVENT DETAILS
at Pacific Film Archive (PFA) Theater
(see times)
San Francisco International Film Festival @ BAM/PFA
Georgian director Zaza Urushadze has crafted a gripping and perceptive antiwar tale set during the brutal 1992 Georgian-Abkhazian war. Taking the neutral viewpoint of one of the last remaining Estonians in the disputed Caucasus region—an old man played with a measured and sage force by Lembit Ulfsak—Tangerines observes the growing conflict from a tangerine orchard on a remote mountain. A sudden shootout between Georgian soldiers and Chechen mercenaries puts the old man Ivo in the strange and extremely tense position of nursing two wounded soldiers who are mortal enemies in his small house. Giorgi Nakashidze is tenacious and charismatic as the veteran Chechen soldier, while Raivo Trass is likable and a little odd as the young Georgian who fends off Nakashidze’s murderous threats. Gorgeously filmed in a mountainous coastal region of Georgia, Urushadze’s film is an astute and captivating history lesson about a little-known conflict. Unexpected humor occasionally pops up as the tension builds, but the inevitable climax is intense, powerful, and surprising. Tangerines would be a strong and insightful film in any context; recent events in the Ukraine make it especially relevant today.
—Gustavus Kundahl
• Written by Urushadze. Photographed by Rein Kotov. With Lembit Ulfsak, Raivo Trass, Giorgi Nakashidze. (84 mins)
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Georgian director Zaza Urushadze has crafted a gripping and perceptive antiwar tale set during the brutal 1992 Georgian-Abkhazian war. Taking the neutral viewpoint of one of the last remaining Estonians in the disputed Caucasus region—an old man played with a measured and sage force by Lembit Ulfsak—Tangerines observes the growing conflict from a tangerine orchard on a remote mountain. A sudden shootout between Georgian soldiers and Chechen mercenaries puts the old man Ivo in the strange and extremely tense position of nursing two wounded soldiers who are mortal enemies in his small house. Giorgi Nakashidze is tenacious and charismatic as the veteran Chechen soldier, while Raivo Trass is likable and a little odd as the young Georgian who fends off Nakashidze’s murderous threats. Gorgeously filmed in a mountainous coastal region of Georgia, Urushadze’s film is an astute and captivating history lesson about a little-known conflict. Unexpected humor occasionally pops up as the tension builds, but the inevitable climax is intense, powerful, and surprising. Tangerines would be a strong and insightful film in any context; recent events in the Ukraine make it especially relevant today.
—Gustavus Kundahl
• Written by Urushadze. Photographed by Rein Kotov. With Lembit Ulfsak, Raivo Trass, Giorgi Nakashidze. (84 mins)
San Francisco International Film Festival @ BAM/PFA
Georgian director Zaza Urushadze has crafted a gripping and perceptive antiwar tale set during the brutal 1992 Georgian-Abkhazian war. Taking the neutral viewpoint of one of the last remaining Estonians in the disputed Caucasus region—an old man played with a measured and sage force by Lembit Ulfsak—Tangerines observes the growing conflict from a tangerine orchard on a remote mountain. A sudden shootout between Georgian soldiers and Chechen mercenaries puts the old man Ivo in the strange and extremely tense position of nursing two wounded soldiers who are mortal enemies in his small house. Giorgi Nakashidze is tenacious and charismatic as the veteran Chechen soldier, while Raivo Trass is likable and a little odd as the young Georgian who fends off Nakashidze’s murderous threats. Gorgeously filmed in a mountainous coastal region of Georgia, Urushadze’s film is an astute and captivating history lesson about a little-known conflict. Unexpected humor occasionally pops up as the tension builds, but the inevitable climax is intense, powerful, and surprising. Tangerines would be a strong and insightful film in any context; recent events in the Ukraine make it especially relevant today.
—Gustavus Kundahl
• Written by Urushadze. Photographed by Rein Kotov. With Lembit Ulfsak, Raivo Trass, Giorgi Nakashidze. (84 mins)
read more
Georgian director Zaza Urushadze has crafted a gripping and perceptive antiwar tale set during the brutal 1992 Georgian-Abkhazian war. Taking the neutral viewpoint of one of the last remaining Estonians in the disputed Caucasus region—an old man played with a measured and sage force by Lembit Ulfsak—Tangerines observes the growing conflict from a tangerine orchard on a remote mountain. A sudden shootout between Georgian soldiers and Chechen mercenaries puts the old man Ivo in the strange and extremely tense position of nursing two wounded soldiers who are mortal enemies in his small house. Giorgi Nakashidze is tenacious and charismatic as the veteran Chechen soldier, while Raivo Trass is likable and a little odd as the young Georgian who fends off Nakashidze’s murderous threats. Gorgeously filmed in a mountainous coastal region of Georgia, Urushadze’s film is an astute and captivating history lesson about a little-known conflict. Unexpected humor occasionally pops up as the tension builds, but the inevitable climax is intense, powerful, and surprising. Tangerines would be a strong and insightful film in any context; recent events in the Ukraine make it especially relevant today.
—Gustavus Kundahl
• Written by Urushadze. Photographed by Rein Kotov. With Lembit Ulfsak, Raivo Trass, Giorgi Nakashidze. (84 mins)
show less
Date/Times:
Pacific Film Archive (PFA) Theater
2575 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94720
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