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Repentance

(dir. Abuladze, 1984/87)

Tenguz Abuladze filmed Repentance in 1984 knowing that making such a forthright film could have grave consequences. It was shelved for three years; however, by 1987 the political climate had shifted and the film was released as the poster child of glasnost. It was widely distributed and Abuladze received the prestigious Order of Lenin for the film.

Repentance opens with the death of Varlam, a high political official ostensibly much loved by the people. A woman named Keti repeatedly exhumes his body and is eventually put on trial for the act. In the trial she exposes the terrors of Varlam’s regime and the many crimes which he inflicted on the Georgian people. Much of the film is a flashback to Keti’s childhood and the arrest of her artist parents and other members of the intelligentsia. Ultimately, Varlam’s son and grandson must grapple with the truth about their ancestor’s actions it they are to repent for the crimes of the past.

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