Taming the Garden, a film by Salomé Jashi Moved to tears This subtly serves to visually remind us that these collector’s items are in fact animate beings (conversely, the replanted trees we see in the operatic finale exhibit a taxidermy beauty, stand museum-style still). Substituting breathtaking composition for any narration, Jashi captures the fluid movement of branches, the «dancing» of the trees – even the sailing away of one towering plant from a rooted one’s POV. The gaping holes where the stoic wood once stood, as well as torn-up roads and the felling of less prized, inconveniently in the way trees – all a visual testament to the exploitation of man and the commoditizing of the natural world. In addition to their pittance, the villagers are bequeathed massive collateral damage, (literally) earth-shattering destruction left in the stranger’s wake. It’s a herculean process that involves a slew of often exhausted and exasperated workers, and a long trip across a tranquil but moat reminiscent sea. Traveling to the far-off coast he collects tree after tree, transplanting them one at a time to his luxurious private garden. While the impoverished villagers have always viewed the green giants as an integral part of their community, this never-named outsider – who also happens to be the most politically powerful man in the country, hence folks are reluctant to refer to him directly – sees them as trophies. Through a series of painterly images, the award-winning director…takes us on a fairytale-like journey to the Georgian coast. This disturbing disruption isn’t due to climate change or as the result of any existential threat – unless you consider a single wealthy man with a destructively bizarre hobby an omen of things to come. But the trees are slowly disappearing – or, more accurately, migrating, being uprooted by force (not unlike the perpetually unstable country’s own citizens). It’s a magical locale where century-old trees, some the size of small skyscrapers, have stood watch over generations of villagers. Through a series of painterly images, the award-winning director, who was born in Tbilisi and whose 2016 doc The Dazzling Light of Sunset nabbed the Main Prize at Visions du Réel’s Regard Neuf Competition, takes us on a fairytale-like journey to the Georgian coast. Taming the Garden, a film by Salomé Jashi By force Premiering in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, Salomé Jashi’s Taming the Garden is a multi-prism meditation that begins with the simplest (if strangest) of premises and slowly, nearly imperceptibly, expands to become a cautionary tale for all. Distributor:Country: Switzerland, Germany, Georgia
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |