User reviews

Mark Twain had said "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness". Movies like this one helps to learn about different cultures and that in turn helps to understand that there is not much difference in how people live around the world. If you have prejudices to any country, its people, watch movie like this one.

This movie shows a fairly typical squabbling family living in close quarters in the struggling post-Soviet republic of Georgia. The main character, a 52 year old wife and mother feels unappreciated/unloved, gets fed up and decides to leave the chaos. It's kind of a middle-aged chick flick but the characters, setting and situation are interesting. The story unfolds organically and kept my attention throughout. There are some light moments in the film which contrasted with the melancholy. IMDB summary refers to a 'patriarchal society' but it seems the old lady of the house ran the family. As a North American who has visited Georgia, the film showed the country accurately, kind of scruffy and run down, but full of life. I recognized the Tbilisi flea market in one scene. BTW I actually might have preferred them speaking Georgian with subtitles instead of having English with American accents dubbed in, but that's a minor gripe. Great to see a slice of life from a little known but fascinating country.

A very simple story: a woman in her fifties decides to leave her family for no other reason than wanting to be alone.Her children being grown-ups she decides to stop playing the various roles society (through her family) imposes on her: mother, daughter, wife, sister... Besides its Intelligent script and direction, top use of (Georgian) music

Beautifully bare bones film of life as it can be within the struggle of life, happiness and family for a woman, her husband and children who desires nothing more than her own self. We need many more such creations on film

It is a foreign movie that can be seen on Netflix; it is very well done and realistic; the acting is excellent, the plot is good, and the cinematography is decent; it is recommended and totally worth it.

I came across this film by accident while searching for something new to view on Netflix. It was such a simple story about the dynamics of a family, centered around a middle-aged woman, that it pulled me in from the start. I felt like I could have been watching a documentary. The acting was spot on and the one shot camera sequences were captivating. Simply a great view!

An honest, moving movie, with some of the loveliest music and singing.

A year might have passed in between one day I watched part of this and the next one.

I don't feel motivated to be negative about this movie; it touches upon a quite desperation we all live with: the love-hate relationship we have with both our family and the institution of family.

Sort of like how Pollack just through paint at a canvas, this movie rather than a normal plot sails along one conversation after another for two hours and I feel sorry for people who were dragged along to the theatre to see it.

In its own way broadly aimable in a way that Pollack wasn't; almost two real with its naturalistic dialogue and acting with problems never quite escalating to a point where any character would even think "this is like a movie" yet still oddly relevant and timeless.

Infrequently, the main character returns to her solitary apartment, does trivial things and that's the whole scene. I suppose it's to stress how much more peaceful her life is without her family which I can respect.

There's even a song.

I can recommend this for people with a huge attention span and an affinity for movies that act as collages of the lives we all lead rather than have a plot based around unusual circumstances.

I like this movie a lot more than I liked watching it if that makes any sense at all.

A beautifully observed, character driven film. A delicate and subtle film that's strength lies in its simplicity. Long takes give great freedom to the actors who embody their roles with a raw honesty. The script is lean but carries an deep emotional undercurrent. Can not recommend enough.

Fantastic depiction of Georgian culture of extended families with elegant twists, wonderful acting and songs

The Georgian film Chemi Bednieri Ojakhi (2017) was shown in the U. S. with the translated title My Happy Family. It was written and co-directed by Nana Ekvtimishvili. (The other co-director was Simon Groß.)

Ia Shugliashvili portrays Manana, a middle-aged teacher. She lives with her father, mother, husband, son, and daughter in a crowded apartment. There's no real hostility, but people are endlessly bickering

One day she decides to leave her home and rent an apartment. She doesn't ask for a divorce. She just moves out. This isn't exactly normative in the U. S., but it's definitely not normative in Georgia. The plot follows Manana's activities after she has made this move.

Ia Shugliashvili is a professional actor, and has made other films. I think she plays Manana in an excellent, fully believable manner. She has the title role, and the movie rises or falls on her work. I think it rose.

This movie worked on the small screen. It has a solid IMDb rating of 7.4. I thought it was even better than that, and rated it 9.

P. S. The closing scene is fascinating. It leaves matters open to interpretation.

The theme of wanting to find oneself, to be at peace, to be still and hear only the sound of rustling leaves and a neighbor's piano practice... a woman finding her own self causes instability within the family; Beautiful and simple tale of the craziness of longing for personal space in a society that resists the idea that women can exist independently.

I enjoyed this. A diverse set of Actors in terms of age showing an extended family living in a comparatively small modest apartment. It centers on the middle aged couple who live with the wife's parents and the couple's adult children and at various times spouses of the children. The wife, Manana, has a decent job. It seems obvious why she wants to move out of this circus, though it is not socially acceptable. Women don't understand why she would leave a man who does not beat her or habitually cheat. Her brother has the men in the new neighborhood watching her, in a protective but oppressive way. As time goes on, she learns things that help her understand why her relationship with her husband is strained and also mitigating factors. I like the interactions of the characters. It is true as in almost documentary like. I like the way the changing seasons are the time clock of the movie. And Manana and her family are appealing characters for the most part. The ending is a little ambiguous, but certain enough.

I was touched by this movie because I have felt overworked and unappreciated by my family. My whole life has been giving & Sacrificing for family. Like this poor woman, I see a better future for myself living alone and in peace

A fly on the wall perspective of a family's struggles to get along.

Often hard to watch. Always real.

As mentioned elsewhere, the singing and music is beautiful.

Subtitled.

In a patriarchal society, an ordinary Georgian family lives with three generations under one roof. Everyone is shocked when one of the family members, at age 52, decides to leave her parents' house and live alone, without her family or her husband, she begins a journey into the unknown.

I liked it a lot, self-knowledge films, often sin by being slow, but here everything is restrained, melancholy and almost liberating, a mature woman, who decides to untie herself from the knots of patriarchal society and misogyny, sad reality, but even if she frees herself from the bonds she She still finds herself sunk in naively mean comments, chained to the discoveries of her husband's past betrayals, free, yes, but unconsciously bound to social slavery...

A first glimpse into life in Georgia which was part of the Soviet Union before its collapse in the early 1990s. It's a family drama but it gives a good idea of the country's values which may not be far different from those of other countries.

Here's a middle-aged woman who's ready to break away from tradition with gutsiness and determination. Not even a family council can dissuade her from going forward with her decision.

The viewer might not quite understand how a multigenerational home can withstand all the pressure and the bickering but it's embedded in the culture.

Ia Shugliashvili is great as Manana. It's a nuanced performance as she goes through her experience of leaving her family and starting life on her own. Ia's depiction of Manana's reaction upon learning of Soso's secret is laudable with her emotions simmering just below the surface without exploding.

Berta Khapava (Lamara) and Mareb Ninidze (Soso) provide able support to an unusual but engaging story.

Georgians appear to be passionate singers, and the film showcases this ebullience.

The ending is open-ended all the more reason that the viewer will spin his/her own version of what happens to Manana's admirable enterprise.

Realistic scenes that cross cultural lines convey well a universal dilemma for women.

The film's unlikely premise: 50-something mother and wife all but cuts ties with her elderly parents, her son, her daughter, her husband, her brother, other family -- to live alone!! After thus emancipating herself, is she any happier? Is her life any better? No, her expression shows same shade of tired drab joylessness as before. I feel sorry for her. In the sequel -- please try antidepressants!!!

The former Soviet republic of Georgia isn't a country that we hear about much. Indeed, when Russia invaded it in 2008, a number of people in the US mistakenly thought that Russia had invaded the US state next to Alabama!

This makes it all the more enlightening to see Nana Ekvtimishvili's "Chemi bednieri ojakhi" ("My Happy Family" in English). In addition to the profound story, I like seeing movies about cultures that we don't often see. I hope to see more movies from Ekvtimishvili.

I found this movie on Netflix. Since Merab Ninidze is one of my favorite actors, I decided to watch the movie. I really liked the movie and I was surprised why I didn't know the director of this movie before. I've looked up their other films and waiting to see what else they come up with in the future.

This movie made me emotional. It is very well made with a gentle touch of music. I was laughing at some points. The actors perform very well and naturally.

I recommend everyone to watch this movie, especially if you are middle aged. I will go back to this movie time and time again. A brilliant film.

This classical Turkish March by Beethoven through the whole film shows the vivace of inner tragedy. The main quote from the film (to my humble opinion): -What happened? What s going on? -Dad, what is the bandage on your head? -Tell me what happened here? -Nino threw a pan at Vakho. Vakho moved and the pan hit Grandpa. -Is that anything wrong with your head? -That is nothing wrong with his head. -How do you know that is nothing wrong with my head? -How dare you speak for others?

"How do you know that nothing s wrong with my head"?

Nothing wrong with the head of a woman, who always wanted to live alone? Nothing wrong with the head of her husband, who betrayed her? Nothing wrong??....