Merab Ninidze

The story of a Russian man's attempted journey to England, this film opens in Kiev in 1986 just after the Chernobyl nuclear accident, where the carefree Valeri Sikorksi (Ivan Shvedoff) pals around with his friend Victor (Dennis Burgazliev). Several years later, Valeri is on a bus from Kiev to pick up Victor in Berlin on his way to England. En route to Berlin, Valeri becomes acquainted with the attractive Yelena (Chulpan Khamatova), who is traveling to Hanover to meet her German husband. Once in Berlin, Valeri meets Pavel (Merab Ninidze), an icon-painter, and eventually learns that Victor has died. After he gets a job at the Russian guest house where he's staying, Valeri begins a friendship with Maria (Anna Geislerova), the wife of his new boss, Schurig (Maxim Kowalewski). They eventually enter into an affair, even though Valeri is becoming increasingly ill with the same disease that killed Victor. As Valeri's sickness grows, so does his pessimism, and his entire world threatens to collapse. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

In Heaven concentrates on the sensitive period between childhood and adulthood. The plot revolves around three friends with personal ambitions who must face the less pleasant aspects of reality. The story is told from the point of view of 17-year-old Csiwi, a loner who spends his evenings driving around in his brother's car or simply hanging out. He has no idea about the direction his future should take. He runs into Levi and Valeska and they easily become his bosom friends despite their differences. Levi, whose circumstances have constantly been changing, is looking for something stable in his life. He works very hard so that he can afford his own flat. Valeska is restless and fascinated by distant places and change. For her, postcards symbolize places where happiness is hidden. Valeska and Levi represent two different ways of living and Csiwi must decide for himself which road to take. He feels the first pangs of love towards Valeska, and Levi easily becomes a good friend. Together they set off in a new direction, which could be their heaven on earth. The strength of the film is the performance of the three characters who carry with conviction the rather unconventional love triangle. The title is taken from a song sung by Nina Simone, among others. In Heaven participated at the 28th International Film Festival Rotterdam, Film Festival Max Ophuls Preis, GIFT Georgian International Film Festival Tbilisi, 32nd Internationale Hofer Filmtage, International Film Festival of India in Haiderabad and International Film Festival of Salerno. Xaver Hutter won the Max Ophuls Preis 1999 for Best Actor. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

Repentance (Pokayaniye) features Avtandil Makharadze in a dual role. As Georgian mayor Varlam Aravidze, Makharadze is a strutting, arbitrarily cruel dictator, something of a composite Stalin and Hitler. Visually he very closely resembles Lavrentiy Beriya, Stalin's right hander and one-time KGB chief. As Abel, the mayor's son, Makharadze finds himself in the middle of an ideological squabble when his father dies. Zeinab Botsvadze, a local woman who had suffered mightily under the mayor's regime, refuses to allow the old man's corpse to be interred. Despite the son's Herculean efforts, Botsvadze continues digging up the late mayor's body, a symbolic gesture to prevent the dead man's villainy from being forgotten. Repentance was the first Soviet film that openly denounced the horrors of Stalinism, though the Georgian director Tengiz Abuladze (known for his poetic and surrealist films) chose to make it allegorical, deliberately using anachronisms and making the leading character look like a combination of Stalin's henchman Lavrenti Beriya, Hitler, and Mussolini. An interesting point -- the last name chosen for the leading character is totally fictional, there is no such name as Aravidze in Georgia. In fact, "aravi" means "nobody" in Georgian. The filmmakers opted for such a name in order not to offend any real person in the Republic of Georgia. Filmed in 1984, Repentance fell victim to Soviet censorship from the moment it left the editing room. When it was finally released in 1987, the film was deservedly garlanded with several awards, including the Cannes Film Festival Special Jury Prize. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a deliberately unhurried manner, this film tells a story of an actress' family life. She has a husband, a lovely child, and a comfortable life. On the surface, she has a lot of understanding friends. Gradually, the film shifts from a lyrical mood to a more sober and exact portrait of the people and their time. This film won a "Best Director" Award at the Tokyo Film Festival. The manner in which the story is told is somewhat disconcerting, as its episodes are intentionally put together in a way which makes them seem as if they are happening to completely unconnected people. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide