Since Otar Left  /
Depuis qu'Otar est Parti
(M)

by Julie Bertuccelli

Otar, a medical student from the former Soviet republic of Georgia, has fled the bleak, crumbling city of Tbilissi in which he grew up to live in Paris. Left behind are his doting mother Eka (Esther Gorintin) who believes he can do no wrong, his sister Marina (Nino Khomassouridze) and Marina's indomitable daughter, Ada (Dinara Droukarova), who live together in such close quarters that Marina and Ada must share a bed.

Suddenly, an unexpected, shocking message is received - Otar has been killed. But Marina and Ada, rather then shattering Eka's last remnant of happiness, decide to put on a charade. Imitating Otar's handwriting, Ada writes letters that paint an increasingly rosy picture of his life in Paris.

Unfortunately, far from placating Eka, the bogus letters arouse an even deeper hunger for contact with her son. Eka becomes resolute in her conviction that she must see Otar again before she dies. Marina and Ada, are, naturally, aghast...

Since Otar Left is a touching and complex study of women from three generations co-existing uneasily under the same roof; few will be unmoved by this universally applicable tale of love and loss. The film is based on a true story recounted to director Julie Bertuccelli by a friend. After having directed a number of successful documentaries, her intensely beautiful first feature is suffused with indelible humanist values and emotions - the film blew away the grand jury of the Critics' Week section of Cannes in 2003 and was awarded the prize for Best Film. It is one of the most subtly resonant French films in years, and sustains a delicate balance of pathos, humor and a clear-headed realism.

France, Belgium- 2003- Drama - 102 min - French with English subtitles
Director: Julie Bertuccelli
Script: Julie Bertuccelli
With: Esther Gorintin, Nino Khomassouridze, Temour Kalandadze, Roussoudan Bolkvadze, Sacha Sarichvili, Douta Skhirtladze, Abdallah Moundy, Dinara Droukarova
Distributor in Australia: Palace Films