| “A Gruesome Existential Thriller.” |
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13 Tzameti
DVD/APPROX. 88 MINS/2006/FRANCE MA15+
DVD/APPROX. 88 MINS/2006/FRANCE MA15+
10
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The feature film directorial debut of Georgian-born Gela Babluani, 13 Tzameti is a stark monochrome thriller which had the art-house film festival
scene abuzz in 2005-6, prompting noted UK critic Philip French to quip in an early review for The Observer that “13 is nearly twice as good as
Se7en.” The low-budget Argentinean 13 Tzameti, in French with English subtitles, emerges alongside the new Spanish thriller King of the Hill as
solid evidence of the demented, amoral irony of such hit torture-fest horror movies as Hostel galvanizing the creative talents of Europe’s most
promising and provocative young filmmakers. Oddly enough, its premise even recalls director John Frankenheimer’s final film Reindeer Games
although is radically different in plot and execution.
When his morphine addict of an employer dies, Sebastian (well played by the director’s brother Georges), tired of eking a meagre income fixing
rooves, assumes the dead man’s identity and follows the instant fortune instructions in a stolen letter containing a bus ticket, not knowing what is
in store for him or even if he can get away with the deception. His connection leads to a group of men involved in a dangerous betting game.
Excited, seeing them arm themselves and discuss large amounts of money, he wants in on the action – a creatively bizarre variation on Russian
Roulette and round by round elimination that brings to the screen a tension as dynamic as that almost thirty years ago in The Deer Hunter. But
The Deer Hunter was Vietnam and Immigrant America, and 13 Tzameti is a contemporary existential nightmare driven by the gambler’s
pathological urge to risk his life on an all or nothing bet.
Dangerous gambling cults have captivated audiences from the futuristic board game played for real in Robert Altman's obscure fantasy Quintet, the
ritualistic gunfights in Albert Pyun’s Mean Guns and through further to David Fincher’s Fight Club: a resonance felt throughout 13 Tzameti, making
Philip French’s pun on the title of the Fincher-directed Se7en quoted at the outset to this review an appropriate comparison. The black and white
photography and widescreen compositions in 13 Tzameti render with detailed and graphic precision the tense faces of players under immense life
or death pressure; and director Babluani dissects the immorality of masculinity in the cult surrounding the get rich quick gambling cult. There are
even suggestions of Stanley Kubrick and Eyes Wide Shut here, making 13 Tzameti an allusive, thought-provoking and unbearably tense thriller.
In a captivating DVD transfer from Siren Visual, 13 Tzameti is a not-to-be missed release for fans of contemporary, edgy thrillers. Director Babluani
is currently involved in remaking the film for Hollywood for potential release in mainstream US cinemas by 2010 and this is the ideal opportunity to
see an original masterpiece before it is consumed by the Hollywood remake factory.
scene abuzz in 2005-6, prompting noted UK critic Philip French to quip in an early review for The Observer that “13 is nearly twice as good as
Se7en.” The low-budget Argentinean 13 Tzameti, in French with English subtitles, emerges alongside the new Spanish thriller King of the Hill as
solid evidence of the demented, amoral irony of such hit torture-fest horror movies as Hostel galvanizing the creative talents of Europe’s most
promising and provocative young filmmakers. Oddly enough, its premise even recalls director John Frankenheimer’s final film Reindeer Games
although is radically different in plot and execution.
When his morphine addict of an employer dies, Sebastian (well played by the director’s brother Georges), tired of eking a meagre income fixing
rooves, assumes the dead man’s identity and follows the instant fortune instructions in a stolen letter containing a bus ticket, not knowing what is
in store for him or even if he can get away with the deception. His connection leads to a group of men involved in a dangerous betting game.
Excited, seeing them arm themselves and discuss large amounts of money, he wants in on the action – a creatively bizarre variation on Russian
Roulette and round by round elimination that brings to the screen a tension as dynamic as that almost thirty years ago in The Deer Hunter. But
The Deer Hunter was Vietnam and Immigrant America, and 13 Tzameti is a contemporary existential nightmare driven by the gambler’s
pathological urge to risk his life on an all or nothing bet.
Dangerous gambling cults have captivated audiences from the futuristic board game played for real in Robert Altman's obscure fantasy Quintet, the
ritualistic gunfights in Albert Pyun’s Mean Guns and through further to David Fincher’s Fight Club: a resonance felt throughout 13 Tzameti, making
Philip French’s pun on the title of the Fincher-directed Se7en quoted at the outset to this review an appropriate comparison. The black and white
photography and widescreen compositions in 13 Tzameti render with detailed and graphic precision the tense faces of players under immense life
or death pressure; and director Babluani dissects the immorality of masculinity in the cult surrounding the get rich quick gambling cult. There are
even suggestions of Stanley Kubrick and Eyes Wide Shut here, making 13 Tzameti an allusive, thought-provoking and unbearably tense thriller.
In a captivating DVD transfer from Siren Visual, 13 Tzameti is a not-to-be missed release for fans of contemporary, edgy thrillers. Director Babluani
is currently involved in remaking the film for Hollywood for potential release in mainstream US cinemas by 2010 and this is the ideal opportunity to
see an original masterpiece before it is consumed by the Hollywood remake factory.
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