A small town of Estonian farmers is all but deserted during the 1992-1993 Georgian-Abkhazian War. The men who remain are trying to harvest their tangerine crop before the fighting reaches their town. Ivo (Ulfsak) is an elderly man who makes the wood crates for the tangerines,, and Margus (Nuganen) owns the tangerine plantation. Their families and friends are already back in Estonia. One day a jeep with two Chechen mercenaries and a van of Georgian soldiers crash into the plantation fence. Ivo and Margus rescue one of the Chechen's, Ahmed (Nakashidze), and one of the Georgian soldier's, Niko (Meskhi), both are seriously injured.
They take the men back to Ivo's house and have their friend Juhan (Trass) see to their injuries. They also bury the dead and dispose of the Georgian van. As Ahmed and Niko start to heal, they vow to kill each other. Can Ivo and Margus save their tangerine harvest and avoid the looming war outside, and between their guests?
This film was the first Estonian film to be nominated for an Academy Award. It lost the 2014 award for Best Foreign Language Film to Poland's Ida. It won other prestigious awards for writer/directer Zaza Urushadze across the international film community (Fajr International Film Festival, Warsaw International Film Festival, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Jerusalem Film Festival, International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg, Bari International Film Festival, and Satellite Awards).
This is Urushadze's fifth film as the director and the fourth that he wrote. Urushadze is a Georgian writer/director. He wisely chose to take such a heavy topic and keep it intimate. Only a handful of characters (all men) have names and speak more than a few words. Grounding the film is esteemed Estonian actor Lembit Ulfsak, who has a calm but strong screen presence. You immediately understand this man, and want him to survive and succeed. In stark contrast to him is Elmo Nuganen's Margus, who is continually worried and talkative. You feel the tension as the wounded men enter the picture, changing every aspect of Ivo and Margus' lives. The landscape is gorgeous and becomes a character in it's own right. It also adds to the feeling of isolation that the characters have from the fighting, until that is shattered abruptly (and loudly).
It is a powerful film. Quiet and moving. Definitely worth the accolades it received and hopefully a larger audience will have the opportunity to watch this film.
Tangerines [Mandariinid] (2013) 87 minutes
Director: Zaza Urushadze
Starring: Lembit Ulfsak as Ivo
Giorgi Nakashidze as Ahmed
Elmo Nuganen as Margus
Mikheil Meskhi as Niko
Raivo Trass as Juhan
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