Repentence - Tengiz Abuladze
"Repentence" is the final installment of Tengiz Abuladze's trilogy. It tells the story of a local mayor, Varlam Aravidze, and his descent into the madness and paranoia of power. After his death, his family must come to terms with his actions during his life.
This film was a dangerous one for Abuladze to even dream about. Varlam vaguely resembles many historical dictators, but within the Soviet context and as a Georgian film, very much resembles Stalin. Although the film was originally shelved for release after it was completed, it's official release in 1987 and the widespread popularity of the film signaled important changes in the Soviet Union. This film was critical of the regime, and under different times or leadership Abuladze could have been killed for making it.
Joseph Stalin was the leading dictator of the Soviet Union from 1929 to 1953. Stalin transformed the Russia of the past, a peasant farming society, into an industrial and military superpower. His plan centered on collectivizing Soviet farming, and he killed or exiled those who disagreed with him. The collectivization also lead to widespread famine across the Soviet Union that killed millions of people. Stalin lead through a totalitarian regime with a strong secret police system. Neighbors were encouraged to spy and report on each other, and thousands of people were sent to prison camps if they were considered a threat to the Communist Party. Stalin created a cult of personality in the Soviet Union, re-writing history books to feature him more prominently and re-naming cities. He lead the Soviet Union through World War II and eventually defeated the German army. As he grew older, he also grew more paranoid, as does Varlam in Repentence. Stalin died in 1953.
This film was a dangerous one for Abuladze to even dream about. Varlam vaguely resembles many historical dictators, but within the Soviet context and as a Georgian film, very much resembles Stalin. Although the film was originally shelved for release after it was completed, it's official release in 1987 and the widespread popularity of the film signaled important changes in the Soviet Union. This film was critical of the regime, and under different times or leadership Abuladze could have been killed for making it.
Joseph Stalin was the leading dictator of the Soviet Union from 1929 to 1953. Stalin transformed the Russia of the past, a peasant farming society, into an industrial and military superpower. His plan centered on collectivizing Soviet farming, and he killed or exiled those who disagreed with him. The collectivization also lead to widespread famine across the Soviet Union that killed millions of people. Stalin lead through a totalitarian regime with a strong secret police system. Neighbors were encouraged to spy and report on each other, and thousands of people were sent to prison camps if they were considered a threat to the Communist Party. Stalin created a cult of personality in the Soviet Union, re-writing history books to feature him more prominently and re-naming cities. He lead the Soviet Union through World War II and eventually defeated the German army. As he grew older, he also grew more paranoid, as does Varlam in Repentence. Stalin died in 1953.