Madfigs Nana Ekvtimishvili's "In Bloom" is the story of steadfast friendship, of familial strife, of young love and premature commitment, of jealousy and intended revenge, of economic hardship set in the backdrop of civil war and of a precocious maturity which surpasses the misfortune.Fourteen year-old Eka (portrayed by the mesmerizing Lika Babluani), who resides in Tbilisi, labors in line with her neighbors to buy a couple loaves of the meagre stock of bread, at school with her boisterous classmates whom her teacher cannot seem to control, at home where her father is away, her mother seems detached and her sister patronizes her, and at times with her bosom friend, Natia, who makes a decision to escape her own strife which has dire consequences.It is this adolescent bond, between Eka and Natia, about which the story principally revolves, the comfort and support they are able to give each other as the one or the other faces a drunken or screaming family member, tormenting peers, pressure from and violation by willful men and verbal abuse from nearly everyone. Eka is the stalwart, principled character who seems to be able to see beyond the chaos.Exquisitely directed and acted, the viewer senses not one false note among any of the characters or their actions. Emotions are heightened and several times brought to a head, and they are so well played that the sense is that it all could have happened, exactly as portrayed.In several scenes the camera stays on minor characters, shooting from behind or over a protagonist as she addresses them or engages in some action which holds their attention, to play out the scene through capturing the reactions of the minor cast instead of training eyes on the principal character herself: the supporting cast project their characters so impeccably, this occasional perspective works seamlessly.On other occasions, scenes are not concluded, such as during the circumstance of a kidnapping or the consequences for the perpetrators of a mortal act or a meeting which closes the film. But the characters, all of them, and the scenes, in the short space of 100 minutes, are so finely developed by writer Ekvtimishvili and portrayed by the actors, that it is unnecessary, there is nothing wanting, the imagination easily completes the picture.The able editing, post-processing and spare soundtrack all complement and amplify the superior direction. Stand-out cinematography, pace of the film and color grading are reminiscent of Romanian New Wave cinema, such as those of "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu," "The Way I Spent the End of the World," "California Dreamin'," or "12:08 East of Bucharest."If a viewer were pressed to find fault, he might say that "In Bloom" relates a story which lacks transcendent or inspirational moments, grand epiphanies, heroic characters or poetic dialogue. But it is the totality of poignant story and evenly-skilled effort from those behind and in front of camera to convey that story which makes the indelible mark.This viewer was reminded several nights back in starting a commercial film (a film in which everything is spelled out, for the densest audience, nothing left to interpretation) and in having completely forgotten a recent viewing of it: the vast majority of movies are forgettable. "In Bloom" stays with you.---------------------------------------- Rating: 7.5+/10 (rounded up for IMDb)Viewing: DVD, distributed in the USA by Big World Pictures (widescreen presentation; English subtitles; Dolby Digital 2.0; trailer aside, no special features relevant to picture)

ReganRebecca I don't believe I've ever seen a Georgian film before watching In Bloom, but it was a great place to start and I'll certainly be looking more into Georgian cinema. Like many coming of age stories the film focuses on two young teenage girls, but unlike most typical American or European films, the background for this film involves a country that has recently overcome one violent coup and is in the middle of a civil war. Screenwriter and co-director Nana Ekvtimishvili handles these details with lovely subtlety never making them feel heavy handed or overt. The camera- work for the film is also a knock out. The cinematographer, Oleg Mutu, is the same one responsible for the Romanian masterpiece 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, and he flawlessly employs the steady hand and long takes he used in that movie to great effect here. There is a beautiful 5 minute scene that is a one shot take of one of the girls dancing and it is the perfect meld of technical camera-work and physical performance. I would be remiss of course not to mention the acting of the two lead girls who are simply fantastic. And while they are both strong actresses, it's Lika Babluani, in a much quieter performance, who is devastating. She has a face made for cinema and she can carry those long takes and fill them up with her presence without feeling laboured or strained.

nivazr One of the finest movie in dealing the friendship between two young school going girls in a society where it didn't turn modern. The story is all about two teenage girls and their friendship. The director conveyed their problems and also their way of handling it. The movie completely explains their love, family, sorrows, fun and most importantly courage.Both the lead ladies performed very lively and gives you the right kind of emotions till the end. The grand-mother of Nadia was perfect along with Eka's mother and sister. The directors showcased the rural area very clearly, we didn't know anything about their country but there is plenty to enjoy the visuals which are captured. The cinematography was dazzling where the camera man captured some beautiful singles shots amazingly, the scene where the girls party turns in to a group study was adorable and in the other hand that non-stop dance from Eka on Nadia's wedding was stupendous. The music and editing played their part and conceived what the directors want form them. There are scenes where you can feel their tense, scenes like Nadia's abduction and in the scene where Nadia asking for the gun from Eka to kill her husband, there are lots of sequences are there for you to get connected. The screenplay was moving like episodes and the director didn't confuse any of them.The movie also defines their culture and the way how their girl's are thinking about their life. Only flaw in this movie is it's time killing narrative but still these two girls make us cross this hurdle with ease. Verdict - Women's are not common all over the world but their feelings are.

spaceman88 The story revolves around two 14 year old girls, best friends growing up together in Georgia.Although it's set in 1992, the time-line and history is merely a canvas for a tale of friendship and difficulties in a flawed culture and society. We witness the hardships the two girls have to go through and negative or positive emotional bonds they have with friends/schoolmates/family.There's not much dramatization or cheesy drama going on, since the narrative is documentary-style realism à-la "A Separation". I have to applaud the two young actresses for more-or-less carrying the whole story on their shoulders, with success. Not that the other actors are bad, they all contribute to the authentic atmosphere. It's also hard to ignore the setting, the homes and streets that reek of post communist decay. This felt personal to me, having grown up in an "fresh" democratic Romania, where the circumstances were similar, even if not the same.I can totally recommend "In Bloom" to anyone interested in a good story. This is no Hollywood moneymaker, but I also disagree with another reviewer writing that it's hard to understand for non-Georgians. Cinema is universal.