Eka & Natia, chronique d'une jeunesse géorgienne

The story revolves around two 14 year old girls, best friends growing up together in Georgia.

Although it's set in 1992, the time-line and history is merely a canvas for a tale of friendship and difficulties in a flawed culture and society.

We witness the hardships the two girls have to go through and negative or positive emotional bonds they have with friends/schoolmates/family.

There's not much dramatization or cheesy drama going on, since the narrative is documentary-style realism à-la "A Separation". I have to applaud the two young actresses for more-or-less carrying the whole story on their shoulders, with success. Not that the other actors are bad, they all contribute to the authentic atmosphere.

It's also hard to ignore the setting, the homes and streets that reek of post communist decay. This felt personal to me, having grown up in an "fresh" democratic Romania, where the circumstances were similar, even if not the same.

I can totally recommend "In Bloom" to anyone interested in a good story. This is no Hollywood moneymaker, but I also disagree with another reviewer writing that it's hard to understand for non-Georgians. Cinema is universal.

Nana Ekvtimishvili's "In Bloom" is the story of steadfast friendship, of familial strife, of young love and premature commitment, of jealousy and intended revenge, of economic hardship set in the backdrop of civil war and of a precocious maturity which surpasses the misfortune.

Fourteen year-old Eka (portrayed by the mesmerizing Lika Babluani), who resides in Tbilisi, labors in line with her neighbors to buy a couple loaves of the meagre stock of bread, at school with her boisterous classmates whom her teacher cannot seem to control, at home where her father is away, her mother seems detached and her sister patronizes her, and at times with her bosom friend, Natia, who makes a decision to escape her own strife which has dire consequences.

It is this adolescent bond, between Eka and Natia, about which the story principally revolves, the comfort and support they are able to give each other as the one or the other faces a drunken or screaming family member, tormenting peers, pressure from and violation by willful men and verbal abuse from nearly everyone. Eka is the stalwart, principled character who seems to be able to see beyond the chaos.

Exquisitely directed and acted, the viewer senses not one false note among any of the characters or their actions. Emotions are heightened and several times brought to a head, and they are so well played that the sense is that it all could have happened, exactly as portrayed.

In several scenes the camera stays on minor characters, shooting from behind or over a protagonist as she addresses them or engages in some action which holds their attention, to play out the scene through capturing the reactions of the minor cast instead of training eyes on the principal character herself: the supporting cast project their characters so impeccably, this occasional perspective works seamlessly.

On other occasions, scenes are not concluded, such as during the circumstance of a kidnapping or the consequences for the perpetrators of a mortal act or a meeting which closes the film. But the characters, all of them, and the scenes, in the short space of 100 minutes, are so finely developed by writer Ekvtimishvili and portrayed by the actors, that it is unnecessary, there is nothing wanting, the imagination easily completes the picture.

The able editing, post-processing and spare soundtrack all complement and amplify the superior direction. Stand-out cinematography, pace of the film and color grading are reminiscent of Romanian New Wave cinema, such as those of "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu," "The Way I Spent the End of the World," "California Dreamin'," or "12:08 East of Bucharest."

If a viewer were pressed to find fault, he might say that "In Bloom" relates a story which lacks transcendent or inspirational moments, grand epiphanies, heroic characters or poetic dialogue. But it is the totality of poignant story and evenly-skilled effort from those behind and in front of camera to convey that story which makes the indelible mark.

This viewer was reminded several nights back in starting a commercial film (a film in which everything is spelled out, for the densest audience, nothing left to interpretation) and in having completely forgotten a recent viewing of it: the vast majority of movies are forgettable. "In Bloom" stays with you.

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Rating: 7.5+/10 (rounded up for IMDb)

Viewing: DVD, distributed in the USA by Big World Pictures (widescreen presentation; English subtitles; Dolby Digital 2.0; trailer aside, no special features relevant to picture)

The new Georgina film ''In bloom'' makes Deep impression onlooker, great performance by Lika Babluani and Mariam Bokeria, - a classic story about the transition to adulthood and its attendant difficulties, where the great camera work and acting of spaces were completely wiped out in the story, rather odd mounting solutions, and, most importantly, the only female view of the world.

The film is full of tragic scenes, typical of the Georgina, ''in bloom'' - talking about everyday life, it is often very cruel to us, on the abnormal situation in the families of the strong friendship and mutual assistance, first love ... yes, of love, of course, he said. And again about his childhood.

I think This film is actually In Top 5 made In Georgia During last 20-25 Year.

In Bloom is a must see movie about Georgia's recent past. This period has been covered time after time in many movies but none of them compares.

To start with the plot - it's very simple and depicts almost everyone's life in 90s Georgia. Yet it is so well transferred to the screen, I could not tear away. The movie shows every ugliness we have lived through and it was so authentic I could not get rid of a lump in my throat throughout whole film. Small Georgian quirks might be also interesting and funny to a foreign viewer.

Beautifully shot, with every detail taken into consideration. Tbilisi has changed so much in these 20 years and yet the film captured the 90s vibe perfectly.

None of the child actors are professionals but they are doing magnificent job. They are very real and relatable.

Overall it was a brilliant effort, which deserves to be recognized.

Yes, indeed I just registered on IMDb so that I could write a review on this truly amazing movie. The movie is centered around two teenage girls making it through the war in Georgia (the country) from 1990's and their every day struggles at home, school and on the streets. The war is not on the front page though. It is in the background but it does not make the movie any less dramatic. Physical and sexual harassment, bullying, civil war, poverty, survival, struggle, depression, making it to the next day, swimming in the ocean of aggression while trying to retain some values and integrity, trying not to become one of them...It is more revealing and even shocking once you realize that the struggles these girls and their mothers and grandmothers had to fight more than 20 years ago are not necessarily over either in Georgia or elsewhere. Women still have to put up the 'pretty' masks once in public and smile and pretend to be happy even if they had been beaten up by their spouses a few hours earlier. Women have to act in order to please others - others being spouses, or parents, or friends, or the society as a whole. In short, the movie is highly recommended!