-View "Kumquat"
"Kumquat" Mandariinid is an anti-war film, co-produced by Estonia and Georgia, and premiered at the Warsaw Film Festival in Poland in 2013.
Let us first understand the background of the story.
Abkhazia is an autonomous republic of Georgia, bordering Russia to the south. The Estonian village in Abkhazia was formed in the second half of the 19th century. In July 1992, after Abkhazia declared its independence on its own, it was in a state of confrontation with the central government of Georgia, which triggered an armed conflict. Subsequently, the Russian army stationed in Abkhazia in the name of the CIS peacekeeping force.
This war broke the peaceful life of Estonians. The story is about the Estonian Ivo staying in the village during the war and continuing to help his friend Margus Margus collect kumquats. After a small firefight, Ivo rescued the Russian Chechen mercenary Ahmed Ahmed and the Georgian soldier Nika Nika. Their enemies only wanted to kill each other from the beginning until they became known as "brothers". But later, when the Abkhazians came to look for the Georgians, they clashed with Ahmed. In order to protect Ahmed, Nika had a gun battle with the Abkhaz. In the exchange of fire, Margos was shot and killed, and Nika was also unfortunately killed.
It should be said that the story is very simple and even idealistic. The two people who wanted to kill each other went from being insoluble at the beginning to being able to sit down at a table to drink tea, kebabs, and help each other. In the war, people saw the brilliance of humanity.
The few people in the film are also portrayed vividly.
Margos was always worried about his oranges. He saw Chechens and Georgians fighting. He said that they hit my fence and my fence was destroyed. He even called the Georgia-Abkhazian War the Citrus War, which was to fight for the land of long oranges. Ivo said to him, your oranges are driving you crazy. Margos was eventually buried in his orangery. Tangerine is the title of the film. It runs through the entire film. It also seems to have a metaphor. I think it may represent a hope for peace. The war disrupted the lives of the orange growers. "Our previous lives are over, and that's it, it's over!" "It was not smart to do orange business during the war." The orange growers finally did not have to escape the war and fell into the flames of war.
The key character of the story, Ivo, remained stubbornly holding on after his family moved out of the Estonian village. Ahmed asked him "Why don't you leave?" Ivo replied: Because I don't want to leave. Does he love this land? Ivo answered: Love and hate.
Ivo, who didn't want to leave, saved Ahmed and Nika who were enemies. He warned them like a parent not to kill each other in his house. He asked Ahmed why he participated in the war? Ahmed replied that he made a lot of money by participating in the war for his family. He asked Ahmed, who had always wanted to kill Nika: Young man, who gave you the power to do that. Ahmed answered: War.
Ivo said, "A toast to death." Until the end, when he buried the Georgian Nika next to his dead son, we didn't understand why the old man insisted on staying in this village. Ahmed asked, did you bury the Georgian who killed your son next to him? Ivo said, yes, what does it matter? Yeah, what does it matter?
War is a manifestation of the fusion of human intelligence and ugly roots. The destructiveness of war is enough to stifle all good things, and it is enough to distort and alienate human nature. It is difficult for both sides of the war to say which side is more just. There is no pure good or pure evil in this world. But in the war, we saw the warmth brought by Ivo, illuminating the warped soul in human nature.
And Nika and Ahmed were at war as soon as they played, and the two even had fun bickering. Nika shouldn't listen to the music played by Ivo. Ahmed said he was enjoying it. Then the curious Ahmed asked Nika what kind of music you like, Nika didn't bother to pay attention to him, and continued to repair his tape.
Nika said, the place where you sit is the land of Georgia. Ahmed said, I was sitting in an Estonian chair. I have to say defiantly, yes, I was sitting on an Estonian chair in an Estonian home. This is Abkhazia.
Nika: Foreigner, what are you laughing at? What did you lose in Georgia?
Ahmed: I am protecting foreigners from small countries like you.
Nika: It seems that you have not received any education. You don't know anything, you don't know anything. Have you studied history? Have you ever read?
Ahmed: I won't take it to my heart, and don't mind what you are talking about?
In the film, Nika has been repairing a tape. While repairing the tape, he looked at the photo of Ivo’s granddaughter and asked again and again, who is this? Ivo asked why he looked at pictures of his granddaughter again and again. Nika said, anyway, I don't want to remove my eyes when I see it.
In the middle, Ivo and Nika had a very touching conversation. He asked what Nika did? Nika said that before he became a soldier, he was acting. Ivo said that he would go to see his play and Nika's play with Ahmed.
Three people who were strangers met because of the war. War is cruel, but there is an indelible brilliance in human nature.
At the end of the film, Ahmed is going home. He drove the car and played music. The music came from the tape that Nika had repaired.
Music knows no borders.
May the world be peaceful.
View more about Tangerines reviews
