13 Tzameti

First: this movie starts slow. Stick with it – no matter what! The film makers aren't wasting your time. They're taking you someplace you never would have guessed, not in a hundred years.

Second – it is a superb film. Great story well told. A low budget film that does not seem at all low budget.

Also, a good film for a student of film. A very good example a minimalist approach. The director very much lets the story tell itself. The camera is very unobtrusive. There is no artificial manipulation of the emotions by music, sound or special fx. Every thing is low key, just a little excitement by some key actors, just as it would be. Great film making? Yes; taught, tense, exciting, nerve racking.

Also, a great example of how you can still make a great film without a lot of blood, gore or sex. What?..... your thinking.... how can you do that? Watch the film and find out.

How low budget is this? One suspects it was shot in b & w more for budgetary reasons than style. However, this director demonstrates such a mastery of his craft that it may be intentional. For which ever reason, it works.

Good casting, too, even though there was a little nepotism. Even the fat guy was well cast.

Last, as another critic advised: the less you know going into this film, the better. However, I give this one piece of information: Tzameti means '13' in Georgian (as in the Caucasus's not the United States....). So, the title reads: "13….13". Even this makes sense if you note three things…..

Sit back and enjoy.... although later you'll be on the edge of your seat.

Good but somewhat disappointing with very very little storyline. Basically, from the teaser trailer which just showed a scene from the part in the movie where they play the "game", I could make up this entire film. Besides the main concept, there is nothing new or original in the movie which was disappointing. We don't get to know any of the characters, and the game gets repetitive when they add nothing new to change it up. They also throw in a storyline with the police to try to put some meat on the storyline but it doesn't do much. On the flipside, this movie is quite well-filmed and despite its severe (and I really mean that) lack of tension, it still remained somewhat intriguing all the way through, with a very bleak atmosphere enhanced by the stark black and white look of the film. The first part up to the game worked well and would've worked even better had I known nothing about this movie. Essentially, I think this could've been one of the best 15-20 minute short films I'd ever seen. Instead, it is a diluted/flawed but passable feature film.

The idea is simple and easy to follow without many ploys or elaborate schemes.

The quality of the film comes from the build up of tension throughout, the camera work involves a lot of close ups on peoples faces and this gives us a real view of their fear and desperation.

Babluani does a great job in the lead as an ordinary man who is out of his depth and has no alternative except to play along.

There are a few twists in the tale to keeping you guessing and the ending is good with the atmosphere remaining taut right to the end.

No clichés or other silliness just good directing and acting.

This is a brilliant movie. It's not a bloated Hollywood concoction, derived of any original idea or emotion. It tells its story and ends, does not linger endlessly and unnecessarily. It revolves around a single bright idea, which it carries and improves through its length. The fact that it's shot in B/W only adds to the effect, making it more gritty and realistic. It also enhances the expressions of characters, making them more artistic.

The casting is perfect as well, in my opinion. At times, I got the feeling that I'm watching real people and not actors. Great soundtrack which doesn't convolute every scene as silence plays a big role in the movie, building the tension.

This movie just reminds what cinema is really about; why films move people and make them feel things. It's an absolute treat.

Lastly, this movie has the single best sequence I saw in a movie for a long time. It's raw,gripping and nerve racking. Also, pay attention to sounds and looks, which at times tells a whole sentence. Do not watch any trailers or read any detailed reviews on this film to feel the full effect.

This remarkable first movie by a young France filmmaker really impressed me and without any doubt it had been one of the most beautiful screening in the Festival of Venice.

It's a black and white sadistic journey through the misery of men. The protagonist, an immigrant twenty year old guy, struggles to survive and works fixing a roof, when the owner of the house he's working at dies of overdose he gets to know that he's not going to be paid and decides to replace the man in a mysterious job outside town. He finds himself involved in a whirl of violence that will take away from him any form of innocence.

I strongly recommend it