Zaza Urushadze’s Estonian film (Georgian co-production) “Tangerines” (2013) doesn’t add anything new or imbue a fresh perspective amongst the myriad of anti-war films. Prior to watching the movie and based on reading the plot, some might judge this film to be an ‘award-bait’ work (“Tangerines” earned an Oscar nomination in the ‘Best Foreign Film’ category – first nomination for an Estonian film). But, this retelling of an often-tackled subject in cinema is laconic, powerful and heartfelt. Yeah, the ultimatum “Tangerines” provides is the same old-school message of ‘trust & love your fellow human beings and lay down the arms’, but how it expresses this message is what makes the film an essential one.
The opening title of “Tangerines” renders the background on
Abkhazian-Georgian conflict of 1992 after the collapse of Soviet Union. The
Eastern European countries, situated in a corner of Caucasus (vast region
between the Black and Caspian seas that contains the Caucasus Mountains), were
wracked with escalating civil wars. Russian-backed Abkhazians (also with
Chechen mercenaries) fought against Georgians, in the early 90’s, for a parcel
of land. The Georgians were accused of conducting ethnic cleansing among the different
groups of Abkhazia. Estonians, who lived alongside the Abkhazians and Georgians
for more than hundred years (they settled in the area by 1880’s), were caught
in the middle of this civil war. By 1992, when the events portrayed in the film
are set, many Estonians fled to their homeland.
The idyllic Estonian settlements are almost empty except for
a couple of elderly men. Elderly Ivo (Lembit Ulfsak), a carpenter, is making
wooden crates in his workshop for his neighbor & friend Margus (Elmo Nuganen), who don’t want to leave his tangerines until it is harvested. A local
army commander has promised to Magus to send few men to help with the pickings,
but they have to wait for now as war broods over their abandoned town. At one,
war literally comes to these elderly men’s doorstep as two bands of rival group
kill each other in the streets. Ivo nurses the wounded Chechen mercenary Ahmed
(Giorgi Nakashidze) and while digging graves for the dead men notices one
Georgian soldier, Niko (Misha Meskhi), who is still breathing. Ivo takes both
of the badly wounded men in and brings them back to health (with the help of a
doctor friend and Margus). As Ahmed and Niko gradually recover, the bitter enemies
vow to kill each other, but both of them also promise Ivo that fight won’t
ensue as along as they are living under his roof.
The rest of the film observes the two fighters’ senseless
belligerence, mistrust and also examines the region’s conflict in microcosm. The
plot’s premise may not be original, but “Tangerines” turns out to be an
effective anti-war manifesto, thanks to the nifty skills of the actors involved
and director Zaza Urushadze. The film’s title doesn’t seem to be just referring
to the colorful fruits amidst the greyish war zone. It might refer to the
deep-seated compassion of the two old men in the middle of all these insensible
antagonisms. We can also draw comparisons between Margus’ obsessions of
harvesting the fruits with that of Ivo’s attention to the soldiers, who genuinely
tries to harvest the good will out of them. From one perspective, the orange
fruits may be a symbol of hope (for a better future), while from other perspective,
the fruits appear to be a symbolic representation of neglected populations that
are left to rot, in the name of nationalism.
The script without infusing any enhanced dramatic moments
gradually disassembles the mental barriers that reside within Ahmed and Niko from
understanding each other. The back-stories and dialogues don’t force any
manipulative sentiments on the viewers. The chief accomplishment of Urushadze is
the way he casts a poetic eye to the surroundings & characters without ever
turning both into a mawkish element. Some might view Urushadze’s decision to
not delve deep into the region’s history & conflicts as a flaw, but I think
by not enclosing a sense of place or specificity, the movie becomes a powerful
universal tale on ethnic prejudices and religious differences. Despite certain
feel-good factors, the director has displayed the boundaries to this
clear-sighted optimism.The film-maker also doesn’t pass away the instances to
include unfeigned tragicomic humor.
The self-referential scene (‘cinema is a big fraud’) as the three
old men push the fighters’ van to the bottom of a ravine plus the absurd verbal
spat between Ahmed and Niko provides few chuckles, while the shifting opinions
of the individuals imbues a lot of poignant moments. The pensive performances
of the all-male cast perfectly deliver the dramatic conflicts and social life
of the respective characters (especially Lembit Ulfsak, who conveys the essential
world weariness and compassion of Ivo). Director Urushadze demonstrates the battles
in an intense and jarring manner, particularly the final shoot-out with the
Russian soldiers.
“Tangerines” (87 minutes) conveys the time-worn message
about how ‘war is brutal’ and how ‘humans would fare well with compassion and
trust’, but the path taken to deliver this message is what makes the film
fascinating, poignant and universal.
Trailer
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