The wonder in this film lies the in performances, so wonderfully acted that these women never seem less than real.
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05/02/04
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Since Otar Left (2004)
98
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:53
Fresh:52
Rotten:1
Average Rating:7.9/10
Consensus: A drama that's both funny and moving.
Theatrical Release:Apr 9, 2004 Limited
Box Office: $220,305
Synopsis: The crumbling squalor of former USSR city Tibilisi, Georgia, is the setting for a tale of three generations of Soviet women. Elder matriarch Eka (Esther Gorintin) lives for the letters from her... [More]
Starring: Esther Gorintin, Dinara Droukarova, Nino Khomassouridze, Temour Kalandadze
Director: Julie Bertuccelli
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Reviews for Since Otar Left
Bertuccelli's heartfelt film affords a unique peek into the hearts and minds of a generation who, after having been awakened from the lie they'd been living all their lives, must now face the aftermath of an entire nation's failure.
04/30/04
The mulish and loving maternal sway of Eta is felt in every one of the film's lovingly articulated frames, thanks to the magnificently expressive performance of the 90-year-old Gorintin.
04/30/04
Top CriticAll three actresses are wonderful, but the picture belongs to the commanding Gorintin.
04/30/04
Top CriticHands down the most heart-rending French film to be released in the U.S. in the last year.
04/30/04
Everything about this subtly directed drama enhances its pathos and humor.
04/29/04
Ms. Bertuccelli's direction is singularly graceful in allotting enough space to each of her three co-protagonists without tearing apart the fabric of familial solidarity.
04/29/04
Top CriticA wonderfully acted film from Georgia that shows how lying to your mom is not always peachy.
04/28/04
Drawing on her documentary training, the director distills complex meaning into such perfectly chosen gestures as a foot rubbed, a cigarette smoked, a shampoo interrupted when (with post-Soviet-era regularity) the water fails.
04/28/04
Top CriticJulie Bertuccelli's very beautiful first feature is suffused with indelible humanist values and emotions.
04/27/04
If Otar is, finally, a mite thin and predictably structured, that takes little away from the filmmaker and her cast, who work hard at fashioning the most outlandish special effect of all: believable human life.
04/27/04
Top CriticThere's a wonderful depth that transcends the simple plot and extremely slow-paced storytelling.
04/24/04
Through its powerful emotions coupled with exquisite restraint, this 'small' film makes a big impact.
12/20/03
Since Otar Left sustains a perfect balance of pathos, humor and a clear-headed realism.
11/04/03
Top CriticOnly yields its bountiful rewards at the end.
10/22/03
Almost unbearably moving at times, Julie Betuccelli's simple but sublime debut feature presents a portrait of maternal love and female fortitude that will reduce the stoniest of viewers to tears.
10/14/03
Since Otar Left deftly conveys the unsettling and painful things that can happen in the family circle even when individuals are only trying to act out of love.
10/12/03
Wise and perfectly judged, French director Julie Bertuccelli's feature debut hits all the right notes.
10/11/03
Since Otar Left is meant to play out like a fable, but Bertuccelli's direction isn't nimble enough to carry it off.
10/10/03
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