After a bit of a break it is time again for the last little spurt of the Williams Lake Film Club.
There are three films left until we start our big summer break.
The next film is the only film being screened on a Monday.
It is Tangerines and it will be shown this coming Monday, April 3, at 7 p.m. at the Central Cariboo Arts Centre downtown. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tangerines is brought to us from Estonia/Georgia.
The film was released in 2015, and has subtitles as the original languages are Estonian, Russian and Georgian. It was filmed in Guria, the Republic of Georgia and runs for 87 minutes.
We will see a short film before, Nana, (six minutes) by Australian Aboriginal director Warwick Thornton and featuring Mitjili Gibson, the nana from his film Samson & Delilah.
Tangerines is set in 1992 during the growing conflict between Georgia and Abkhazian separatists in the wake of the Soviet Union’s dissolution.
It is a compassionate tale focusing on two Estonian immigrant farmers who decide to remain in Georgia long enough to harvest their tangerine crop.
This was my first surprise. I had no idea that Georgia was a tangerine growing region. When the war comes to their doorstep, Ivo (played by legendary Estonia actor Lembit Ulfsak) takes in two wounded soldiers from opposite sides. The fighters vow to kill each other when they recover, but their extended period of recovery has a humanizing effect that might transcend ethnic divides. Set against a beautiful landscape defiled by war, this poetic film makes an eloquent statement for peace.
Tangerines is the first Estonian film ever to be nominated for both, the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film. But aside from receiving countless critical accolades, it went basically empty. In my opinion this film is far too human and makes far too much sense to make it very popular.
Admission at the door is $9 regular, $8 for film club members, and $6 for seniors (65+) and students, High School and TRU. Refreshments included in admission. See you on Monday, April 3.
