Adieu, plancher des vaches!

2) a subtle and poetic film about people trying to find their real placeand run away from origins. two guys frequently meet not knowing thatone of them is rich but prefers washing dishes in a bar, while theother is poor but rents a suite and motorbike to spend a fancy day intown. probably, one of the most beautiful moments of the film is therich piere’s (played by ioselliani himself) acquintal with a drunkardfrom the town. both sing long gone melodies while drinking and watchinga mini train running around on a table. many have regarded the film astoo slow and boring what apparently comes from ioselliani’s refusal touse close-ups and crane/dolly shots. in opposite, it adds a silentobserving character and avoids to give any human judgment.

3) Here indeed is film-making in its purest art form. Iosseliani has, inthis film, the only one of his I have had the greatest pleasure ofseeing, manages to evoke such subtle ideas in each pan, in each scene,which in themselves are miniature stories, each one a little jewel,which little by little begin to string along, creating a thread whichtells the whole story. And the result is a treasure, something to valuefor a long time.

To call this film a comedy, is almost an insult: it is far too subtlefor such simplistic definition. Here is wit, which is not just for easylaughs; here is wit in its subtlest form, such as the British sense ofhumour in the fifties and early sixties of the past century. Here isthe voice of a visionary who creates unforgettable tid-bits, visualsavouries, such that each scene in itself is a suggestive, evokefultreasure, combining to thread together an intelligent story forintelligent viewers. No, one should not try to compare Iosseliani withAlmodóvar or Lynch, perhaps a slight influence or comparison withFellini at times, because the concepts of how to exhibit subtle nuancesof wit in exquisite expressiveness, very often with hardly anydialogue, belong to another sphere.

The presence of a great bird, similar to a pelican, as well as the twodogs – a Labrador puppy, and a short-legged variant of the BorderCollie, affords that emblematic and enigmatic delicate touch whichhelps this film to be something else: it is not comical and it is notlaughable; this film is cinematography as art.

My vote is much higher than the present average shown in IMDb.

4) I’ve just seen this movie last week at the International Film Forum"Arsenals" which takes place in Riga, Latvia.

I think it’s a brilliant movie with style, taste and outstanding work ofDirector and Director of Photography. Acting is great, too. It’s a definitemust to see for people who like Otar Iosseliani’s films and for many otherswho can appreciate real art of cinema.

5) A superb blend of Parisian life akin to Almodovar’s in depthanalysis of life in Madrid. The surrealism of the Marabouand the end sequence adds the Bunuel touch. For good measure add a series of superb characters who would nothave been out of place in any of the Twin Peaks episodes.More Calvados please and another movie as good as thisone – a rare visual event.

6) It reminds me of Keanu Reeves in My Private Idaho, but this is aEuropean version which is of course more "humane" and very "european".The style is like "the Stream of Consciousness", the shooting of themovie seems like the director’s casual flowing of ideas, which is notvery much arranged, anyway, I like anything that is off the track andextraordinary. Lastly, the gist the movie tries to unveil is that lifeis a circle, it repeat itself all the way. Seems like the directorunderstand the Chinese philosophy- Taoism, which said that everythingis developing is its own track, which is a circle. I think the end ofthe movie is very meaningful, though it’s the father’s turn to leavethe rich home to look for his own dream, it is clear that unlike hisson, his must be a successful escaping. I appreciate the regular usingof the rainy weather in the movie. I just love everything about themovie.

7) Iosseliani is a truly controversial figure of film making; You eitherlike his films or fell asleep watching them. No in betweens. Havingonly minimal traditional narrative or story telling clichés, the filmmanages to illustrate true emotions without being bombastic orover-sophisticated. Doing this by showing everyday people who are onlydrifting with the waves of life, wishing to get away from theirexistence.There's a slight sarcasm involved in the portrayal of howeveryone is unhappy with what he/she has and wants to be like the otherwho wants to be like him , and vice versa.(Really sharp.)However, Ittall ends up in positive, placing emphasis on the need for seekingpersonal freedom and finding hope and refugee in true friendship, in aplastic, greedy, selfish world.

Personally, i think it has one of the most touching end sequences infilm history.

I understand the purpose of the director to tell stories that aren’tstories, but the way he tried to show time passing by (the couple ofjoggers, who first appear jogging together, than jogging with astroller (sic!), than the man alone…) and to link the "adventures" ofthe characters (the final scene, with the maid climbing a mountainseeing the big black guy on another cliff, and then seeing the boatwith her former employer and saying "Oh, a boat!") were awful. At thesame time, I liked the way he portrayed the middle-high class, even inan excessive way. I think it is a lousy movie. If you want to watch it,do it as a film school student, trying to see technical aspects andissues. It will help a lot.

9) Otar Ioselliani’s masterpiece about pursuing life’s dreams andremaining true to your beliefs combines a wonderful sense of warmth andan exceptional sense of humor as it paces along in its very own,unconstrained fashion while inviting us for a ride into its pleasantand touching world.

Scenes of often over-the-top situation comedy are juxtaposed withsoulful explorations of the human heart, where staying honest tooneself as a person is the only way of avoiding life’s inevitablecruelty.

Both entertaining and thoughtful, it is the most enjoyable film to-dateby Ioselliani.

10) I saw this immediately following the same director’s Falling Leaves andfound it much more accessible. The twenty-odd year gap between the twofilms and the fact that this one was made in France as opposed toGeorgia may, of course, have something to do with it. Again, theGeorgian-born director (he made a point of saying he was Georgian andNOT Russian) introduced it – in fluent French yet – and described it ashis most complicated film. It’s a gently, meandering piece and at leasthalf a dozen times you think, OK, that’s it, a logical ending, only tohave it spin out yet moor gossamer thread. There’s a distantrelationship with Renoir’s The Rules Of The Game but only around theedges. It’s about a disparate group of people whose lives intersect andsometimes, but not always, connect. Bizarre, eccentric, both could befairly employed to describe some of the characters. Again the directorchooses to spin his web around a young male, this time around the scionof a wealthy family who, for reasons best known to himself, works as adishwasher in a restaurant – and an inept dishwasher at that; he’sfired halfway through the film – and chooses friends from among theoutcasts of society (again, we could, if we wanted to stretch a point,find a link with Boudu Saved From Drowning). Characters come and go onthis patchwork quilt and some we find more interesting than others.None of the actors are well known but most are fairly competent andoverall the film holds the attention.