13 Tzameti
Aroview: Coolly disturbing noir thriller tracks the fate of a struggling immigrant labourer who intercepts a package with instructions that lead him into a deadly game of chance.
Thickly layered with Beckettian despair, Kafka-esque predestination, and the look of washed out gangster noir by way of Jules Dassin and Jean-Pierre Melville (amongst others); much of the story plays out as a numbly surreal nightmare clicked awake by bleak post-Perestroika allegory. Under calculatedly assured direction by 26-year-old first-timer Gela Babluani, this could easily be accused of dabbling in stylishly detached cruelty, yet while it may seem a bit slickly passionless at times, the horror and suspense are handled with such chilling aplomb that it's bound to linger in your head for days.
NZ International Film Festival 2007
Sundance - Grand Jury Prize (Dramatic)
Member Reviews
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(Very Good). Showing 1-2 of 2 member reviews.
4 stars (Very Good) What a fantastically atmospheric, edge-of-your-seat treat this is. Well shot in grainy black and white. Although a shocking subject the horror is always implied - not in your face. Definitely recommended as one to watch! ~PhilipReeve
4 stars (Very Good) saw it 2 years ago and i can still remember most of it. ~tubbs
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