Brigands: Chapitre VII

Vano is king of a beautiful little realm, so rich that all the neighbouring countries are jealous. However he is surrounded by hypocritical and treacherous courtiers. Even his wife, Queen Eka, deceives him. Five centuries later, in a small country behind the Iron Curtain, Vano is a pickpocket who joins the beautiful Eka, to fight with her for the revolutionary cause. They manage to climb the ladder, but Vano is again confronted with dissatisfaction, jealousy and treachery. The country is in the grips of a civil war. Vano can’t even have a drink with someone without risking his life. He is attracted to Paris, because he has heard that life is good there…Otar Iosseliani, a familiar face at the festival, is known for his wayward and heartfelt satires. This film-maker stemming from Georgia situated his most recent film Brigands respectively in the Middle Ages, the Soviet era and in today’s Paris. Iosseliani’s case is that little has changed over the centuries. Other costumes, but the same gestures and behaviour. The film is a dry and intelligent narrative, with sublime photography by William Lubtchansky and an exciting score by Nicolas Zourabichvili. This European co-production was partly shot on location in difficult conditions in Georgia. An exhausting experience, but it earned Iosseliani a special jury prize at the last Venice festival.