This was a film that I tried to watch earlier in 2025, but there weren't subtitles. I saw another viewer brought up using the translator application on your phone. I gave it a try for another film from this year so did it again here. Other than knowing the title and lining up the runtimes, I did get to watch this on YouTube.
Synopsis: Schoolteacher Spiridon (Kote Mikaberidze) and his pretty wife Despine (Nato Vachnadze) are taking a room in a small inn. Tariel Mklavadze (Mikheil Kadagidze), a local nobleman and debauchee falls for the beauty Despine. He and his friends terrify the young couple to get to her.
The film is taking place in the court room. It starts with seeing shelves of files. A hand then pulls out one and it matches the title of the film. We will learn that Spiridon is on trial. We see witnesses for the prosecution and the defense. They're giving the character of Tariel, giving their rendition of the events and Spiridon also takes the stands to tell what happened.
We go into the past to see a boy, who I'm now thinking is Spiridon. He gets into trouble for killing a fly and not listening. He is taught to read by a neighbor though. This makes his father proud of him. He then grows into being a school teacher and ends up in a small village. It is here that gets a side job of tutoring Despine. She has a crush on him and is sad to learn that he's leaving for another position. The two are then married, as he feels for her as well.
Now in the city is where they encounter Tariel. He is a ruffian who, like the synopsis says, is a local noble. He sees Despine and approaches her. He doesn't care that she's married. Spiridon ignores it. That is until Tariel and his friends break into their room that night. This bothers Despine deeply and her husband is also attacked by Tariel. There is only so much that a person can put up with before they fight back.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this is an interesting, early film. It is one of the first court room dramas that I've heard of. The title gives away what happens, as does the opening scene where the file is taken down. This is an interesting plot device. The only issue that I have is that we already know something bad happens to Tariel. It is just a matter to see how it ends up. What I'll say here though, this is more about developing our three leads, making this a character study.
Let's then discuss the acting performances. Being that this is a silent film, you'd expect that they'd be over the top. Interestingly enough, this is more grounded and natural. I do appreciate that. Mikaberidze when we're seeing him in the past seems like a nice guy. He wants to help Despine when she is his pupil. When he sees Tariel eyeing his wife, he just ignores it. I could see myself doing the same, not wanting confrontation. Also, Tariel is a nobleman so nothing but bad things could happen if he fights back. Vachnadze works as this timid woman. I love developing that she is from the country and is sheltered until Spiridon comes to her village. She also shows such stress after the attack now that she is haunted by Tariel and breaking into their room. Kadagidze is also good as our villain. Being that he's important in this town, he's used to doing whatever he wants. They refer to him as a ruffian. Other than that, the rest of the cast help push our characters to where they end up.
Now I did want to address if this is a horror film. If this came out today, no. It would be a court room drama. What I will say though is that being in court is terrifying, at least I thought it was. You could be there for the littlest thing and with how official it has made me uncomfortable. Now you have Spiridon on trial for killing Tariel. He's a noble with a bad reputation. You don't know what way they'll go, so that's good to build tension. Where this goes was annoying, but I will say, I respect it as it allows the viewer to determine what they think.
All that I have left then to discuss would be filmmaking. The print that I watched wasn't in the greatest shape. My guess is that this wasn't preserved as well as others. The cinematography doesn't do anything that makes it stand out. I thought how they framed the shots were good. That includes whether it is in the court room or the shots in the town/village. There isn't much in the way of effects, except when Despine is haunted by Tariel. One is the poster I saw for this film, which caught my attention. There's another scene where he has sparks coming from his eyes. Those worked for what they needed and it adds an eeriness. There wasn't a soundtrack synced up with my copy so I cannot give credit there.
There isn't more that I can say so in conclusion, this isn't necessarily a horror film. What I will say though is that it has a terrifying situation to be in. This is though a fairly well made film from this era. They don't do much with the cinematography or framing, I do think that is limited by the technology of the era. I did like the effects they do to make Tariel look like this haunting figure in Despine's dreams. The acting was good from our trio of stars. It is a character study of the two males, with Despine being the catalyst. Not one that I can recommend though if you want entertainment, unless you're exploring the history of the genre like I am. It helps if you can read Russian as the pacing was off to continue to pause it. Not something I'll hold against the film though.
My Rating: 6 out of 10.
