Otar Iosseliani-Pastorali (1975)

Acclaimed Georgian filmmaker Otar Iosseliani takes us on a whimsical voyage of self-discovery. Before his self-exile to direct films in France, Iosseliani's work was frequently banned, shelved, or restricted by Soviet authorities. Iosseliani’s contemporary fables of modern life and traditional values have been compared to the classic comedies of French master Jacques Tati. Shrewdly whimsical and filmed with a poetic casualness, Iosseliani’s universe is one of joyous pessimism. (amazon.com - Editorial Reviews)




Multi award-winner at the Cannes, Venice and Berlin Film Festivals, Otar Iosseliani is a Georgian filmmaker whose works feel like 'silent talkies'. They contain a unique sense of nostalgia and a poetic casualness that is characterised by the 'joyous pessimism' of his universe. (-DVD cover)




The Soviet Republic of Georgia, located in the Caucasus, is about three hours by plane from Moscow; but from its movies Georgia seems closer to Italy. Rich in cultural detail, the best Georgian films are usually gentle satires (resembling early Olmi or the best Czech films) or poetic meditations on national traditions. Otar Iosseliani is their greatest director . . . an ironic commentator on ordinary life in a very extraordinary corner of the USSR. (http://upcoming.org - Tom Luddy)




Pastorale is very much a tone-poem. Iosseliani's sharp perceptions are constantly aimed toward sardonic juxtapositions, in the subtlest sense, to establish those wistful ironies of human behavior that exist when cultural patterns coexist behind invisible barriers. . . . The village is not at all cozy-cute, but unflinchingly grubby; the mud, poverty, insouciant pigs, goats, and chickens, plus the eternal outhouse, are just there—the labor, too, for the women do everything without modern conveniences. (http://upcoming.org - Albert Johnson)




The plot is very simple. For some bizarre reason, a string quartet from Tbilisi is sent to spend a summer in a very rural community. The incomprehension is mutual. The community is in the throes of some obscure ancient enmities and hasn't the time to worry about the weird sophisticates who have dropped in. The musicians suddenly find themselves as reluctant anthropologists trying to find a way to function in what they thought was their country. The only connection between these two groups is a girl who is entranced by the music but who knows all too well the enmities. The resolution is of all these conflicts is touching without being even remotely sentimental. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0124046/usercomments)






Links to previous movie posts:

From 1# to 170# please refer to page :
170 Michelangelo Antonioni-Identificazione di una donna (1982)

171 Erick Zonca-La Vie rêvée des anges (1998)
172 Miklós Jancsó-Még kér a nép ('Red Psalm') (1972)
173 F.W. Murnau-Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
174 Werner Herzog-Nosferatu, Phantom der Nacht (1979)
175 Peter Greenaway-The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
176 Yasujiro Ozu-Tokyo monogatari ('Tokyo Story') (1953)
177 Abbas Kiarostami-Ta'm e guilass ('Taste of Cherry') (1997)
178 Bertrand Bonello-Le Pornographe (2001)
179 François Truffaut-L'Homme qui aimait les femmes (1977)
180 György Pálfi-Hukkle (2002)
181 Gillo Pontecorvo-La Battaglia di Algeri (1966)
182 Paolo e Vittorio Taviani-La Notte di San Lorenzo (1982)
183 Aleksandr Dovzhenko-Arsenal (1928)
184 Béla Tarr-Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)
185 Jean-Claude Lauzon - Léolo (1992)
186 Otar Iosseliani-Pastorali (1975)