A group of geologists discover oil under the fields where Sosana, the aged and anachronistic father, raises his herd with his unhappy wife, her friend and his growing boy with whom he displays a wonderful rapport. The land is invaded by big machinery that feels remarkably alien to the serene and natural aesthetic of the valley. The family all enjoys the pleasures and storytelling capacity a slide projector grants them, but it too feels distinctly out of place in a town with no plumbing.
Cinematography
Those oil derrillas look like praying mantises from space.
Direction
Kokochashvili lets silence argue louder than dialogue ever could.
Acting
Abashidze's hands tell the whole story before he speaks.
Director
Merab Kokochashvili
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during the Thaw but shelved by Soviet censors who sensed its critique of 'development' wasn't exactly celebratory. Took years to surface.
The slide projector is the film's secret weapon — a Western consumer good that lets the family consume their own past while the future drills beneath their feet.
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