მოკლედ, დავასრულეთ იოსელიანის ბოლო დრონდელი ფილმების ყურება
და შესაბამისად აქედან ყველაზე მეტად გამოვარჩევდი ფილმს "ყაჩაღები", ფილმი უბრალოდ უნდა ნახოთ.
ერთი ინფორმაციაც კი საკმარისია, რომ ეს ფილმი არც ერთი ხელისუფლების (არც ეძიკას, არც მიხუილას) დროს არ უჩვენებიათ და ეს ყველაფერი იმიტომ რომ ფილმი მათზეა, ანუ ყაჩაღებზე რომელთაც ქვეყანას დედა მოუხნეს.
Vano has a surrogate queen in the comely form of his favourite, Lia (Keti Kapanadze), but Lia has never forgiven Vano for abducting her, and seeks vengeance with a chalice of poisoned wine.
Some five centuries later, Vano is a pickpocket in a small country behind the Iron Curtain. Played again by Amiranachvili, he joins the revolutionary cause of the beautiful Eka, played once more by Ordjonikidze. Victorious, the couple climb through the ranks of the new order, but their success breeds discontent, jealousy and treachery. Acquaintances disappear, hauled off to prison for a few ill-chosen words after getting drunk. Meanwhile, the country is at war with itself: some citizens shoot from the rooftops at anything that moves, others patrol the city and countryside in tanks and armoured cars, and the rest loot. Knowing that he cannot even have a drink without endangering himself, Vano decides to leave his country for the bright lights of the big city where he hears life is sweet.
Testifying both to Ioseliani's international reputation and the lamentable state of Georgia's film industry, Brigands is a pan-European production, involving France's Pierre Grise Productions and La Sept Cinéma, Russia's Soyuzkinoservice, Switzerland's Carac Film and Italy's Bim Distribuzione. Financiers for the US$3.8 million production include ARTE, Canal+ and the National Centre of Cinema (CNC) in France; Russia's State Committee for Cinema; the Swiss Ministry of Culture and Zurich's Téléclub AG; and Italy's RAI1 and Bim.
Shooting took place on location in Georgia over a gruelling six weeks during mid-winter. 'There was no electricity and nothing to eat,' remembers producer Martine Marignac, who was also behind Ioseliani's last feature La chasse aux papillons (1992). Things went from bad to worse when the production moved to Georgia's state studios in the capital, Tbilisi. 'There were no telephones, hardly any lights and no chemicals in the lab,' recalls Marignac. Ironically, many of the lavish interior sequences then had to be shot during two weeks in St Petersburg. 'Whatever antiques or objets d'art the Russians hadn't destroyed, the Georgians have had to sell to survive,' explains Marignac.
'But the most important thing is that the result is a good film,' she asserts. 'The Venice Biennale was willing to accept it after seeing only an unfinished version.' For Marignac, not even the diversions and pleasures of summer at the Lido can compete with that acknowledgement, despite having endured winter in Georgia. 'Yes, there'll be plenty to eat,' she quips, 'but it's so expensive.' Adam Minns
Prod cos: Pierre Grise Productions, La Sept Cinéma, Soyuzkinoservice, Bim Distribuzione, Carac Film AG
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