Gela Balbuani, writer and director of 13 Tzameti, has probably seen more than few Noirs from the 1950s, but his work here also makes for other comparisons as well. His film has that air of doom and detached, almost cold despair that reminds one of a Jean-Pierre Melville film. There is also the element, from Melville, of characters who 'do' more than talk, as the slightest or most obvious expressions tell everything we as the audience need to know. But the subject matter is a lot closer to that of at least a few cult films as of late that have basically a story gimmick that is taken very seriously. But unlike Fincher's the Game where the stylistic flair is part of the artificial nature of the content or Fukasaku's Battle Royal (a film I thought of a couple of times midway through this film) where the nihilism is so over the top it becomes comical, 13 Tzameti is shot in stark, gritty black and white photography. This is not simply done, I think, for the filmmaker to get in his 'old-school' kicks from those hard-boiled noirs from America and even France.
The story unfolds without much complexity, but with enough ambiguity early on to make an impact midway through. Sebastien (George Balbuani in his first film role under director Gela's directorial debut), finds that his neighbor Jean-Louis (Passon, in a good if all-too-short performance) has killed himself in his own bathtub from an overdose. For a reason that is made clear though not precise (money for his immigrant family, and possibly just curiosity), he decides to follow the lead of a package of instructions left for Jean-Louis, which takes him through various channels of travel across the country even as he's being tailed by the police. Like in Eyes Wide Shut, Sebastien is the bemused, eventually awfully affected outsider, this case in a group of people who watch, bet, or participate in a sort of 'game' where rich old Frenchmen bet thousands on who will die, or kill, in three rounds where thirteen contestants have to load up one gun a piece and fire it at the other's head in a domino-type line. The game becomes the centerpiece of the film, where morphine and alcohol gets slammed down and shot up in-between the rounds, and the game itself becomes as captivating as the participants, and on both sides of the volunteer killers and on-lookers bring on an unnerving sense of doom, and it pervades the film up until the end.
The logic behind the technical style, one where Meliava's absence of hand-held photography and wavering close-ups and high-angle shots in the 'shooting' scenes, creates a world devoid of a sense of humor, and one that completely sustains the tone of the film. On top of this, the musical accompaniment is only on occasion, with the mid-section The acting also corresponds with this style, as the performances are all very realistic, and Balbuani particularly has a lot to carry as the protagonist. His character halfway through goes through a change from being a not-too-special, contemplative young guy to being traumatized with this special roulette-like competition and finally into something of the walking dead in his some of his mannerisms. For a first-time performance under a first-time director, it's a turn that reminds me (speaking of French films from days gone by) of a Jean-Pierre Leaud, with a face and demeanor that can only hide so much before the emotional toll of the character finally comes through. It's an uncompromising film with a violent, desperate core where the fates are against all involved in the game, with little hope in sight. That it won't be for everyone is not a surprise, but it has an appeal that might someday make it into a cult-movie, and it's got a psychological edge that has me already ready to watch it again.
The story unfolds without much complexity, but with enough ambiguity early on to make an impact midway through. Sebastien (George Balbuani in his first film role under director Gela's directorial debut), finds that his neighbor Jean-Louis (Passon, in a good if all-too-short performance) has killed himself in his own bathtub from an overdose. For a reason that is made clear though not precise (money for his immigrant family, and possibly just curiosity), he decides to follow the lead of a package of instructions left for Jean-Louis, which takes him through various channels of travel across the country even as he's being tailed by the police. Like in Eyes Wide Shut, Sebastien is the bemused, eventually awfully affected outsider, this case in a group of people who watch, bet, or participate in a sort of 'game' where rich old Frenchmen bet thousands on who will die, or kill, in three rounds where thirteen contestants have to load up one gun a piece and fire it at the other's head in a domino-type line. The game becomes the centerpiece of the film, where morphine and alcohol gets slammed down and shot up in-between the rounds, and the game itself becomes as captivating as the participants, and on both sides of the volunteer killers and on-lookers bring on an unnerving sense of doom, and it pervades the film up until the end.
The logic behind the technical style, one where Meliava's absence of hand-held photography and wavering close-ups and high-angle shots in the 'shooting' scenes, creates a world devoid of a sense of humor, and one that completely sustains the tone of the film. On top of this, the musical accompaniment is only on occasion, with the mid-section The acting also corresponds with this style, as the performances are all very realistic, and Balbuani particularly has a lot to carry as the protagonist. His character halfway through goes through a change from being a not-too-special, contemplative young guy to being traumatized with this special roulette-like competition and finally into something of the walking dead in his some of his mannerisms. For a first-time performance under a first-time director, it's a turn that reminds me (speaking of French films from days gone by) of a Jean-Pierre Leaud, with a face and demeanor that can only hide so much before the emotional toll of the character finally comes through. It's an uncompromising film with a violent, desperate core where the fates are against all involved in the game, with little hope in sight. That it won't be for everyone is not a surprise, but it has an appeal that might someday make it into a cult-movie, and it's got a psychological edge that has me already ready to watch it again.