Talking Tribeca: Brides

I’ve had the pleasure this year of screening a number of selections from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place April 16th-27th.

Brides
Directed by Tinatin Kajrishvili
Festival Screenings

One of several Tribeca movies frorm this year involving prison, this Georgian film takes a different approach from the rest. Nutsa (Mari Kitia) is one of the first to come forward to request the opportunity to be married to the father of her two children when the law changes to permit visitations by spouses to those in prison. Her relationship with Goga (George Maskharashvili) is revealed through the few moments that they get to share together. Neither Nutsa nor Goga display too many endearing qualities, yet it’s clear that both have been affected deeply by their circumstances. One particularly moving extended scene finds Nutsa and Goga taking advantage of a new privilege to spend twenty-fours together in a small house on the prison grounds, imitating what life might be like if Goga wasn’t serving a decade-long sentence. That scene is just one of the many unexpectedly intimate, powerful moments in this strong and involving film.

See it or skip it? See it! It’s a solid and thought-provoking drama.