All is well when Varlam Aravidze, the larger-than-life mayor of a small town in late Soviet Georgia dies. It is a noble and dignified end for “the great son of his motherland, a man of a lofty soul, a bright mind and a kind heart, loved by everyone,” except for the fact that his body keeps turning up unearthed in the family garden.
Through dreamlike flashback and memory we discover the real Varlam Aravidze, both a force of nature and a cowardly despot, and the decades of terror and atrocity that he presided over.
Filmed in 1984, Repentance premiered at Cannes in 1987, to praise in the West and much consternation, scandal, and occasionally, cautious admiration in the Eastern Bloc. For although the film involves a fictional dictator and setting, no one was fooled as to who Varlam Aravidze could represent. He is Hitler, he is Stalin, he is Mussolini, he is every bloated tyrant of Twentieth Century wrapped into one man. It was only by the whims of sympathetic bureaucrats that this film was even allowed to be made, only to be subsequently banned by other less sympathetic bureaucrats. Pietro Shakarian tells the story better than I can here. (His article contains some spoilers so just read the first half if you only want the backstory.)
Righteous indignation is not a tone I am confident we can land in our own culture. So many modern films that have something on mind end up feeling propagandistic even if they have good intentions behind their aims. (Propaganda is a topic we will be revisiting on this blog.) That is why this film is worth considering. Yes, there is a perspective, yes there is a lot of anger, resentment, and suffering behind this film. Yet somehow this does not destroy the perspective of the filmmaker, it remains a human, complex vision of each person and situation even while casting judgement on them.
The depth of anger never prevents the filmmakers from offering us a nuanced vision of Varlam and his human qualities. He is equal parts tragic and comic, and oddly compelling. This was a remarkable balance struck by director Tengiz Abuladze, the actor, Avtandil Makharadze, who portrays Varlam, and the writers. Varlam does not hate himself. He believes his own lies and his own justifications for betrayal. He knows he is a man of love, a man of the people. His family believes it too.
Yet it is reckoning with the truth of his character that powers the course of the film, the truth of the past, the lies that have wallpapered over a generation of suffering. The anger that boils deep in the heart of this film is the indignation at the silence and the willing forgetfulness of a nation.
It is at the same time a beautiful film, full of memory and dreamlike enchantment. The world feels big again when encountering a film as grand, poignant, and as brimming with life as Repentance, yet so unknown and far from mind here in America.
Who would enjoy this film?
Despite the distances of time and culture, this is still a film I believe a decently adventurous film-goer in the west could enjoy. The characters behave in recognizably human ways, are sympathetic, and well portrayed. The structure of the plot is not obscure or difficult to follow. Most of the suffering is off screen, though that does not fail to make it disturbing at times. Some of the dreamlike imagery was lost on me and drags in a few parts but I found this only a minor distraction which I would hardly call a flaw.
Where can I see it?
Repentance is available for free on Youtube on the Georgian Films page! This is not unlike MosFilm which has a significant number of Soviet Era films simply available to watch for free at any time.
It is also available through the streaming platform Eastern European Movies. You can watch or download their entire library with a small monthly fee (yes I said that right). I must caution, the website is a little sketchy but I ultimately did not have any problems and they have a lot of difficult to find films available.
Sadly both of these prints are standard definition. There is no HD or better version that I know of, making this film a prime candidate for a modern restoration. Regardless, after a few minutes getting used to the format, you will be not be furthered troubled by the resolution and I do not think it will greatly hinder your enjoyment.