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Shtogarenko-Sforza
Reviews
13 Tzameti (2005)
Powerful depiction of a disturbing esperpento.
I think that any member of the audience implying himself in 13 Tzameti won't feel but sheer horror as the grotesque competition takes shape; it's impressive the solidness Babluani achieves in erecting this dreadful fright of a divertimento, turning what could be felt as burdens into the roots of its impact - the goofs of the police investigation subplot framing the movie's development enhancing Sebastien's experiences as the only valid testimony of the a game turning Battle Royale into a hopscotch, the lack of any minimally lucid motivation to imply oneself into such a homicidal spiral the absolutely horrified Sébastien will survive just for being finally flattened by a tragic chance impressing much of the film's strength; and one could feel that the Tzameti (a number symbolizing in Georgian culture an ambivalence of good and bad luck) rules relentlessly the film's course by sealing Sébastien's fate. In this sense, I find 13 Tzameti an admirably driven film.
13 Tzameti is not an enjoyable, but a revulsive film, and excepting the gorgeously shot first forty five minutes I couldn't feel engaged by its dynamic. But it would be terribly unfair repudiating a so intelligently raised movie because of that... all in sum, '13 Tzameti' is a very promising opera prima by a young filmmaker which seems to have much to say and knows how to give it an overwhelming relief.
A Noite Saiu à Rua (1988)
An implacably driven dystopia.
This stylized short is possibly the milestone of Abi Feijó's dark period. Raised as a traveling, 'A noite saiu à rua' presents a nightmarish panoramic through a village unhinged by tyranny - possibly in reference to Antonio de O. Salazar dictatorship, deformed in a grotesque vein.
Now, while as an 'esperpento' it's not an extraordinary piece of work, it still remains a strong short, dyed of bitter conviction in its relentless schematism, leaving a deep impression in the audience - the horribly beautiful end helps much to it. On the other hand, those who know Feijó for his most recent animations will be surprised by the very appealing mechanized aesthetic he displays here, diametrically different to the rest of his oeuvre.
All in sum, I find 'A noite saiu à rua' one of Abi Feijó's most convincing works.