Tangerines is the best Estonian-Georgian film I've ever seen. That will surprise no one. Nevertheless, the 2013 Best Foreign Film Academy Award nominee is worthy of praise. The Georgian director Zaza Urushadze presents a suspenseful narrative with universal relevance. He uses his country's conflict as a vehicle to examine the possibility of reconciliation between enemies.
I've never seen a movie quite like Tangerines. It introduced me to an unfamiliar part of the world. But surprisingly, it reminded me of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Although the two films may not have much in common, they share a similar line of dialogue.
One of the most memorable scenes in E.T. is when Elliot tells Greg that he is taking the extra-terrestrial to the spaceship. Greg asks why the alien can't just beam himself up. Elliot replies, "this is REALITY, Greg." In Tangerines, two men push a van down into a ravine and are surprised it didn't explode on impact. In response, one of them says, "cinema is fraud," perhaps the only funny line in the movie.
In E.T., the line that blurs reality with cinema serves as comedic sarcasm. But the line in Tangerines is more nuanced. Is Urushadze insinuating that his movie is realistic because the car didn’t explode? Or is he ironically suggesting that his film is also a "fraud?" As the fictional narrative unfolds, the audience is left to imagine if the events shown in Tangerines can happen in real life.
Before any American dares to watch Tangerines, it’s helpful to delve a little into the circumstances of the 1992 War in Abkhazia, the film's setting. Following the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, numerous military conflicts arose between Nationalist groups. In the newly independent Georgia, ethnic Abkhazians fought for independence from the Russian-backed Georgian government.
Political map of Georgia (wikipedia.org)
There are three main characters in Tangerines. Ivo is an ethnic Estonian tangerine farmer in the Abkhazia region of Georgia. He is one of few Estonians in his village that did not flee to his homeland during the war. He takes in two wounded soldiers, Ahmed and Nika, and helps them recover. Ahmed is a Chechen mercenary fighting for Abkhaz separatists. Nika is a volunteer for the Georgian army. Both vow to kill each other when they regain their health. But Ivo demands that the enemies remain peaceful inside his home. And without much else to do, the adversaries begin to converse. Subsequently, they dismiss their differences and develop mutual respect.
Giorgi Nakashidze (Ahmed), Lembit Ulfsak (Ivo), and Mikheil Meskhi (Nika) in Tangerines
In today's polarized political environment, it's hard to imagine two people with opposing ideologies successfully resolving their conflicts. For thousands of years, human beings have used a much more effective tool in settling disputes; people have silenced their enemies by killing them. Unfortunately, when adversaries engage in dialogue, they may hate each other even more.
The hope for reconciliation lies on the premise that people have more in common than they have differences. The problem is that enemies may never admit that they agree on anything. Instead, individuals may change their opinion on a topic if they learn they share similar thoughts with their adversaries.
For example, before the 2016 election, approximately 40% of Democrats supported building a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. That support fell to about 10% during the Trump administration. This shift in public opinion may be due to the public being better informed on the issue. Alternatively, many Democrats may not want to agree with Trump on anything.
Similarly, in 2014, only about 20% of Republicans felt that Russia was an American ally. By 2018, that number rose to 40% despite continued authoritarian rule by Vladimir Putin. Perhaps right-wing media coverage swayed some Republicans, or Trump supporters just did not want to agree with anyone on CNN.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at the 2018 Russia-U.S. summit (cnn.com)
Tangerines is an optimistic tale of peace. We all wish there is someone like Ivo, an unbiased mediator who forces people to find common ground based on human decency. But Tangerines is fiction, if not a fraud. Nevertheless, it sends a positive message giving hope for a more civil society.
Andrew’s Grade: B
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