MusicChat It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

butskhrikidze This movie has amazing cinematography, phenomenal screenplay, incredible acting, it's a masterpiece.

Teyss "Repentance" is part of a trilogy produced on the long term, together with "The Plea" (1968) and "The Wishing Tree" (1977). Nonetheless, it can be watched as stand-alone. Its originality, outstanding aesthetics and compelling themes constitute a landmark in former USSR cinema, as well as worldwide. It is a fascinating metaphor on power, tyranny and ideology. *** WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS ***The structure of the movie is as of "Russian puppets" (this comparison is of pure form, since it is Georgian): stories are imbricated in one another. There are six sequences, organised on four different levels.1. PRESENT. A woman, Ketevan, and a man learn the death of Varlam.2. IMAGINATION. (We first think it is a continuation of present action. The true nature of this sequence will only be revealed at the end.) Ketevan imagines she unearths Varlam's body and faces trial.3. PAST. Ketevan during the trial describes how her childhood and family were destroyed by Varlam. It is hence an "imagined flashback" since it is included in part 2.4. FANTASY. Four scenes are included in parts 3 and 5: Nino dreams (she and Sandro try to escape Varlam), Abel daydreams (he talks to a devilish character who is actually Varlam), Merab fantasises twice (he sees Varlam is crazy, Guliko dances near Varlam's body).5. IMAGINATION (same level as 2). We come back to the trial.6. PRESENT (same level as 1). We understand parts 2 to 5 were imagined by Ketevan.This "Russian puppets" structure generates a sensation of confinement, on line with the environment: the story is limited to a town without any news from outside; time seems suspended although the action takes place over decades; we are lost in a indefinite period between modernity and Middle Ages (the horse carriage, the medieval armours). The confinement materialises an allegory: the focus is on symbols, not proportions nor accuracy.Another trademark of the movie is its unique mix of reality and fantasy. For instance, Abel daydreams he sees Varlam eating a fish: when he comes to, his hands actually grasp fish bones. When Merab imagines Varlam is crazy, the scene seems real, and is probably based on actual facts: Varlam was somewhat lunatic, a feature that might have worsened with age. Conversely, many supposedly "authentic" scenes feel unreal. When Sandro comes back, he meets a man in suit and a blindfolded woman (Justice) playing piano outside. When Nino and her young daughter Ketevan look for Sandro's name on logs, the atmosphere is dreamlike or, rather, nightmarish: outstanding images, pace and music make this scene one of the most compelling of the movie, and of cinema in general.The confusion between reality and fantasy even casts doubt on the movie's structure and credibility. Did Ketevan imagine all this, or only partly? What is true or not? Metaphorically, this incertitude illustrates the absurdity of tyranny: everything is irrational. Power is unpredictable: Varlam is grotesque but omnipotent; he suddenly changes from sympathy to repression; stupid accomplices become powerful. Nobody is safe: rules are arbitrary; people can be arrested or released randomly; a centuries-old temple is destroyed for no reason; opponents confess stupid acts (digging a tunnel between London and Bombay) and denounce everybody to weaken the system. Power transits from one generation to another unchanged (the same actor plays Varlam and his son Abel)… until it destroys itself: Merab, unable to embrace the system or change it, commits suicide; Abel eventually unearths Varlam and throws him to the crows, exactly as Ketevan said she wanted to.To carry on, despotism will use reasons that look logical but are arbitrary: scientific "progress" overriding everything else (the experiments endangering the temple), a minority presented as "the people" (the letter denouncing Sandro), external threats (repeated a few times), necessity of hardships that will bring better tomorrows (on the glorious music of "Ode to Joy"), senseless quotes celebrated as Gospel ("We will catch the black cat in the dark room, even if there is no cat"). The references to USSR regime are obvious. However, "Repentance" also delivers a general message about dictatorship: Varlam looks at the same time like Beria (glasses), Hitler (moustache) and Mussolini (black shirt, braces). Deep down, all tyrannies rely on irrationality that pretends to be rational.On top of power, "Repentance" is a reflection about ideology. Varlam is cultured: he knows about painting and religious art, he sings, recites Shakespeare, quotes Confucius. So is his son Abel, who plays the piano. Yet knowledge is nothing, and even dangerous, if it is used for wrong reasons. Culture turns against itself: Sandro's paintings are confiscated; the artist Sandro is deported; the temple is destroyed; Varlam promotes precisely what Shakespeare's sonnet criticised. To save the world, we do not need brains but a heart.A heart, granted, but how? Crushed by oppression, people are powerless. Ketevan, whose family was destroyed by Varlam, now feeds a ridiculous little man who supports the dictator; she can only imagine what she could do. Varlam's grandson commits suicide. Opponents collaborate and/or are deported. People fantasise to escape reality.Nevertheless, for a heart and to escape oppression, one can turn to religion. As a reminder, religion was heavily repressed in USSR. Allusions to this repression include: the man at the beginning eats cakes shaped as churches; Varlam in Abel's dream eats a fish (reference to Christ: ICTUS); the temple crumbles and is finally destroyed. Yet as a sign of hope, the movie closes on the wise words of an old lady: "What good is a road if it doesn't lead to a temple?" Spirituality will carry on regardless.In the end, what is the "Repentance" of the title? Merab's who realises how evil his grandfather was? Abel's who throws away Varlam's body? Ketevan's who regrets being unable to perform her imagined revenge? Others' lack of repentance? As the movie, the title encloses different levels of interpretation and remains partly mysterious.

runamokprods A striking (and politically astonishing for it's day) act of self-examination, self-criticism and ultimately self-laceration of a film made in the Soviet Union. This is a darkly funny, playfully surrealistic, scathing satire of the Stalinist era's turning the entire population of an empire into suspects to be jailed, exiled and eliminated at whim. Full of striking images and strong performances. Told in flashback, it starts from the death of a seemingly beloved small town mayor who we come to learn played the role of a local Stalin. Likable and even playful on the surface, the more we see his ever growing darkness the more disturbing the film becomes, as he ever more readily destroys those who might be enemies, or are simply inconvenient. This flashback tale is framed by watching his family, after his death, trying to deal with their own feelings of and denials of guilt, as a local woman, her life ruined by the mayor, stands trial for repeatedly digging up his corpse again and again. Far from a perfect film, some of the surrealistic imagery works better than others, and some twists seem a bit like 'easy' explanations of complex behavior, but this is still a fascinating, challenging and unique film about one of the great horrors of the last century. And an effective cautionary tale about the power of a paranoid state.

gentendo A community governed by paranoia, injustice and revenge exposes the truth of those who hide behind certain pretenses while revealing the false accusations of those who stand for justice. It is a community that has mistaken that which is good for that which is evil. The people within the community have been duped by a powerful political figure named Varlam. Though his actions and motives from the outside appear interested in the common good, on the inside he is really a menacing tyrant who stops at nothing for possession of absolute power and control. He is representative of many cultural tyrants throughout the ages—Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin. When challenged by the commoner, he unjustly oppresses them; stripping them of their rights and in worst case scenarios, killing them (very similar to every other tyranny in history). All this is done in order to maintain the status quo. Two primary characters who challenge Varlam and his governing despotism are Sandro and his daughter Keti. Both see through the governing façade and seek to expose Varlam's deceit to the common people. However, most within the community conform to a type of herd-mentality; never questioning the governing morality but always blindly obeying the powers at hand. Sandro and Keti are those who are falsely accused by Varlam due to his fear of losing political standing in the eyes of the people. Both are imprisoned: Sandro for revolutionary artwork; Keti for unceasingly digging up Varlam's dead body. The irony, then, is casted upon the dichotomy between those in the community who revere Varlam as a political demigod (e.g. as seen by those who mourn at his death) versus those who see him as he really is—a manipulative and insatiable power monger. Comparing this community to those of the past and present, it varies with an interesting dynamic: Governments that do not have security checks and balances will always become corrupt, causing the people to mourn. Interestingly enough, however, though the government in this film was corrupt, the majority populace did not seem to notice. Ironically, then, when Varlam dies the people do not celebrate in delight of becoming free, but instead mourn because they believe that they had lost a great political leader.The community also displays an interesting clash between church and state. "State" in this sense, can be more properly rendered as science. Thus, then, is the battle between religion and science. A recording of Albert Einstein's last public address helps capture the essence of this battle during a particular dream sequence: Man's drive for science will cause him to create weapons of destruction upon himself less he finds a spirituality higher source of strength. This spiritually higher sense of living is captured through the film's theme of repentance—changing from one state of being to another. Religion seems to be the spiritual strength of the community. The passion to keep religion alive in the community is explicitly demonstrated during Sandro's appeal to Varlam in hopes that he'll extinguish certain lab-experiments from the church's monumental sites. Though Sandro's appeal is promised to be fulfilled, it is here that Varlam begins to suspect Sandro of revolutionary ideas. Not till later in the film when Varlam, unknown to the public, burns down the church does it seem that the gross secular world is taking over. The God of religion is losing its voice while the God of politics—Varlam—is securing his voice as to what is supreme. The old lady's comment at the end of the film implies what the importances of churches are: "What good is a road if it doesn't lead to a church?" Churches are symbols of spiritual places in which to worship God. If man made roads are not built in ways that would lead to spiritual roads of God, what hope does man have of ever getting anywhere in life? If a community is built upon the belief in God, they are more likely to prosper due to recognizing how little they can achieve on their own. With the help of God in their lives, all things are possible.