The movie

The Antique (English subtitles)

Putin's 2006 expulsion of Georgian citizens is the background for this deliciously inventive drama about a female Georgian antiques dealer in St. Petersburg trying to avoid Putin's grasp...

Length: 132 min
Country: Duitsland, Finland, Georgië, Zwitserland
Language spoken: Russisch, Georgisch
Language subtitles: Nederlands
Cast: Salome Demiura, Sergey Dreyden, Vladimir Vlovichenkov
Director: Rusudan Glurijdze
Release date: 22/10/2024

Description

DUTCH PREMIERE

Let’s cut to the chase: this is terrific! So much take-your-breath-away visual inventiveness (the framing, staging, and camera movement are nothing short of delightful), a delicious, multi-pronged shaggy plot in the Georgian style, and great acting make Rusudan Glurjidze’s alternately whimsical and deadly serious look back at 2006 Russia – when Putin was illegally expelling thousands of Georgians – one of the discoveries of the year.

Tired of her antique-smuggling Georgian boyfriend’s immaturity, fellow Georgian Medea (Salome Demuria) buys an apartment in gorgeous, wintery St. Petersburg’s historic centre. She gets a great deal because the apartment comes complete with its 82-year-old owner Vadim Vadimich (Sergey Dreiden) – an opinionated, old-fashioned Russian with a love for opera and curling (!) – who wants to end his days there. As Putin’s police tighten the noose – the similarity to the current situation in Ukraine is no accident – Medea’s job in an antiques warehouse comes under fire. Will she stay or (be forced to) go?