gubacs2
Iosseliani is a truly controversial figure of film making; You either like his films or fell asleep watching them. No in betweens. Having only minimal traditional narrative or story telling clichés, the film manages to illustrate true emotions without being bombastic or over-sophisticated. Doing this by showing everyday people who are only drifting with the waves of life, wishing to get away from their existence.There's a slight sarcasm involved in the portrayal of how everyone is unhappy with what he/she has and wants to be like the other who wants to be like him , and vice versa.(Really sharp.)However, Itt all ends up in positive, placing emphasis on the need for seeking personal freedom and finding hope and refugee in true friendship, in a plastic, greedy, selfish world.Personally, i think it has one of the most touching end sequences in film history.
Keith F. Hatcher
Here indeed is film-making in its purest art form. Iosseliani has, in this film, the only one of his I have had the greatest pleasure of seeing, manages to evoke such subtle ideas in each pan, in each scene, which in themselves are miniature stories, each one a little jewel, which little by little begin to string along, creating a thread which tells the whole story. And the result is a treasure, something to value for a long time.To call this film a comedy, is almost an insult: it is far too subtle for such simplistic definition. Here is wit, which is not just for easy laughs; here is wit in its subtlest form, such as the British sense of humour in the fifties and early sixties of the past century. Here is the voice of a visionary who creates unforgettable tid-bits, visual savouries, such that each scene in itself is a suggestive, evokeful treasure, combining to thread together an intelligent story for intelligent viewers. No, one should not try to compare Iosseliani with Almodóvar or Lynch, perhaps a slight influence or comparison with Fellini at times, because the concepts of how to exhibit subtle nuances of wit in exquisite expressiveness, very often with hardly any dialogue, belong to another sphere.The presence of a great bird, similar to a pelican, as well as the two dogs - a Labrador puppy, and a short-legged variant of the Border Collie, affords that emblematic and enigmatic delicate touch which helps this film to be something else: it is not comical and it is not laughable; this film is cinematography as art.My vote is much higher than the present average shown in IMDb.
janisn
a subtle and poetic film about people trying to find their real place and run away from origins. two guys frequently meet not knowing that one of them is rich but prefers washing dishes in a bar, while the other is poor but rents a suite and motorbike to spend a fancy day in town. probably, one of the most beautiful moments of the film is the rich piere's (played by ioselliani himself) acquintal with a drunkard from the town. both sing long gone melodies while drinking and watching a mini train running around on a table. many have regarded the film as too slow and boring what apparently comes from ioselliani's refusal to use close-ups and crane/dolly shots. in opposite, it adds a silent observing character and avoids to give any human judgment.
lukas-14
I've just seen this movie last week at the International Film Forum "Arsenals" which takes place in Riga, Latvia.I think it's a brilliant movie with style, taste and outstanding work of Director and Director of Photography. Acting is great, too. It's a definite must to see for people who like Otar Iosseliani's films and for many others who can appreciate real art of cinema.
AD
