Ivo, the protagonist of the film, is an Estonian who has lived in Abkhazia all his life. Their group of Estonians is said to have lived here in the second half of the 19th century. After the war broke out, all his fellow villagers moved back to the motherland, but he chose to stay. This kind of attachment to his homeland is not uncommon in the movie, but what is rare is his attitude towards war. Although the war has burned to his doorstep, and although his own son died in this war, we can see that the white beard grandfather Ivo is still calmly doing his carpentry, helping his friend Margus harvest oranges. When the two gangs fought to the death and the life, each with one person and one breath surviving, Ivo did not hesitate to take the two wounded back to his home, healed them carefully, and managed to create peace in his own home! The story thus unfolded between two Estonians, a Georgian, and a Chechen hired by an Abkhazian. Many symbolic expressions of the film are shown in the performances of these people.
First of all, the two wounded lived in the same room. Ahmed, representing Abkhazia, was seriously injured and wanted to kill the Georgian Niko next door. It is conceivable that the two represent two nations that have been tortured by wars and conflicts for many years, and they always think about war before they develop their economy. On the other hand, it is not easy to distinguish between Georgians and Abkhazians in terms of face. Although this is a setting for a tortuous episode in the movie, it also highlights the comicality of war. In Ivo's eyes, there is no difference between the two people. They are both human and must be saved. To zoom in, in Ivo's eyes, there is no difference between the two nationalities. But for the people involved and the people involved, how can the years of hatred be wiped out? However, as Ahmed and Niko get along for a long time, the hostility and hatred of the past has gradually faded. On the one hand, thanks to Ivo's control, on the other hand, the two have gradually realized that this kind of hostility and hatred is not insoluble. Since they are all human beings, they can communicate and communicate with each other. The ethnic culture and religious beliefs of the two sides are very different, but this difference has become a topic of discussion. Until the end, a sudden change (also because it is impossible to judge whether the enemy is a friend from the face of the war) made Ahmed and Niko form an alliance. Of course, you can say that this is only a temporary alliance, but the achievement of this alliance means that the previous conflict of interest has been broken. Even if the insoluble conflict has not disappeared, it is obviously no longer important. In a symbolic sense, the change in the relationship between Ahmed and Niko means that peace can only be achieved by a truce, and war will not bring peace.
Secondly, we see the situation of the two Estonians, Ivo and Margus, in this war. Margus represents ordinary people, that is, innocent people in war. They have their own lives, but the flames of war put them in danger. Margus intends to sell the oranges and move back to Estonia like everyone else to avoid the war. But Ivo is different from Margus, he doesn't count as leaving, he belongs here. Land is more of an industry in Margus, while in Ivo it is the real hometown. From a symbolic point of view, no matter what the reasons for the outbreak of the war, some people will leave their homes. No matter how lofty the motive is, the destruction of their homes will be the price. On the other hand, no matter how the war changes the ownership of land, the connection between man and land is out of material existence, and no matter how fierce the war is, people’s attachment to the land can’t be consumed. In other words, many wars are in vain. The strong bond between man and land existed before the war, and it will not disappear after the war. People are born on the ground and die underground, this has been the case since ancient times. That tree of kumquats symbolizes the fruit of human civilization, this fruit is hard-won, and many people are still spare no effort to destroy it. The aerial photography at the end of "Kumquat" shows the magnificence and fertility of this land, and also calls for people to look higher and farther.
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