13 (Tzameti) Review
By David Kempler
As dark a view of mankind as you've seen in quite some time
Lucky 13
"13 (Tzameti) is a great looking black and white film written and directed by Géla Babluani, a young man who is Georgian (as in Soviet Union) born. One cannot argue with the fact that he is a talented fellow who has a future worth watching. He has created a very dark and despairing atmosphere of hopelessness so he certainly can't be all bad.
What he has presented us with is a mysterious beginning where the audience quickly knows that something violent and barbaric is soon to occur. What exactly it will be is the mystery of the story. It reminded me a bit of Shirley Jackson's great short story the "The Lottery" even though in this film we have no doubt that bad things are afoot.
Sébastien (George Babluani), the director's brother, is a struggling handyman/roofer etc. working on a house in great disrepair. The owner of the house, Jean-François Godon (Philippe Passon), is on the quick path to total self-destruction through drugs. His wife Mme Gordon (Olga Legrand) is a wisecracking woman resigned to her hopeless fate as a soon to be widow.
Other characters float in and out of the first part of "13 (Tzameti)". We are not sure what they are up to or even if they are good guys or bad guys. They are just there doing whatever it is they are doing. A letter is delivered to the Godon household that causes quite a stir. Through a series of events this envelope falls into the hands of Sébastien. Inside the envelope is a train ticket and a hotel reservation. He of course investigates by taking the trip intended for Mr. Godon.
What follows is a trip through one of the manmade channels of hell. I won't tell you what this particular hell is but if it's hell you want you won't be disappointed. Think "The Deer Hunter" goes on a European vacation.
