Repentance (1987 film)
Repentance is a 1984 Georgian Soviet art film directed by Tengiz Abuladze. The film was produced in 1984, but it was banned from release in the Soviet Union for its semi-allegorical critique of Stalinism. It premiered at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, winning the FIPRESCI Prize, Grand Prize of the Jury, and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. The film was selected as the Soviet entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 60th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. In July 2021, the film was shown in the Cannes Classics section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.
Plot
Repentance is set in a small Georgian town. The film starts with the scene of a woman preparing cakes. A man in a chair is reading from a newspaper that the town's mayor, Varlam Aravidze has died. One day after the funeral the corpse of the mayor turns up in the garden of his son's house. The corpse is reburied, only to reappear again in the garden. A woman, Ketevan Barateli, is eventually arrested and accused of digging up the corpse. She defends herself and states that Varlam does not deserve to be buried as he was responsible for a Stalin-like regime of terror responsible for the disappearance of her parents and her friends. She is put on trial and gives her testimony, with the story of Varlam's regime being told in flashbacks.During the trial, Varlam's son Abel denies any wrongdoings by his father and his lawyer tries to get Ketevan declared insane. Varlam's grandson Tornike is shocked by the revelations about the crimes of his grandfather. He ultimately commits suicide. Abel himself then throws Varlam's corpse off a cliff on the outskirts of the town.
At the end, the film returns to the scene of the woman preparing a cake. An old woman is asking her at the window whether this is the road that leads to the church. The woman replies that the road is Varlam Street and will not lead to the temple. The old woman replies: "What good is a road if it doesn't lead to a church?"
Cast
Abuladze cast several of his family members in leading roles in the film.- Avtandil Makharadze as Varlam Aravidze and as middle-aged Abel Aravidze
- Dato Kemkhadze as young Abel Aravidze, son of Varlam Aravidze
- Ia Ninidze as Guliko, Abel's wife
- as Ketevan Barateli
- as Nino Barateli
- as Sandro Barateli
- Kakhi Kavsadze as Mikheil Koresheli
- Merab Ninidze as Tornike, Abel's and Guliko's son
- Nino Zaqariadze as Elene Korisheli
- Nano Ochigava as Ketevan as a child
- Akaki Khidasheli
- as Levan Antadze
- Mzia Makhviladze as M. Makhazadze
- Amiran Amiranashvili
Music
- Khachaturian, Sabre Dance: at the end of the audience that Varlam Aravidze grants to Sandro Barateli, who complains to him that the scientific equipment housed by the regime in the old church threatens to destroy it. The audience takes place in what appears to be a hothouse, and the music blares from speakers hidden among the foliage.
- Debussy, Des pas sur la neige: Sandro Barateli plays Des pas sur la neige on the piano in his apartment before dawn on the morning of his arrest while Nino sleeps in a chair. The music accompanies Nino's dream of her and her husband fleeing through flooded underground passages and then through the streets of old Tbilisi, pursued by Varlam Aravidze, who rides in the back of an open-topped motorcar.
- Beethoven, Ode to Joy: Mikhail's wife Yelena sings the Ode to Joy while she appears to be delusional, talking to Nino of serving a great cause in building a grand society. "Ode to Joy" then starts playing as Sandro seems to be walking towards his execution and is hung from the church's rafters in chains, symbolically dressed like Jesus Christ.
- Beethoven, Moonlight Sonata: Abel Aravidze plays the Moonlight Sonata on the piano in his villa just before the confrontation with his son, Tornike, who then decides to commit suicide.
- Boney M., Sunny: just before Tornike Aravidze shoots himself with the hunting rifle he received as a present from his grandfather Varlam, some friends of Abel and Guliko Aravidze enter, carrying bottles of champagne, to celebrate the victory in court over Ketevan Barateli, and a radio blaring the song Sunny.
- Gounod, Mors et Vita: the heavenly chorale from the Mors et Vita oratorio provides the background music to the close of the film, as the little old lady, played by great Georgian actress Veriko Anjaparidze, climbs the hill, up Varlam Aravidze Street, having asked directions from Ketevan Barateli to the church that was blown up by Varlam's regime.