"Kumquat": On the edge of love and hate

Ubaldo 2022-01-07 15:53:16

"A mixture of love and hate," Ivo said when asked about his feelings for this land.

Abkhazia has been the focus of the conflict between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Turk Empire since the beginning of the 19th century. By the end of the 20th century, the war between Georgia and Russia over the sovereignty of Abkhazia opened a bright red wound to this land. However, the Estonians who continued to immigrate here after the Crimean War became the victims of the two sides of the conflict. The 2013 movie "Kumquat" by Georgian director Sasa Urushadze is based on this background, with a simple plot setting, restrained emotional expression, and long sentiment rendering, showing us ordinary people and participants in the war. The obliteration and rebirth of our humanity and conscience.

"Kumquat" looks completely different from the Hollywood war movies we are familiar with. The film lasts only more than 80 minutes. The whole story takes place in a small village in a valley in Abkhazia. There are only four main characters. The war scenes are omitted except for the last few minutes. But even so, starting from the first shot, the sad atmosphere rendered by the strong style of Caucasian music, the dramatic contradictions and emotional tension of the film immediately caught the audience, until the sudden change of the musical style at the end, the strong contrast gave the audience a huge shock. Effect.

Life is so hard, but so beautiful. Estonians came to this fertile land in order to survive. They cultivated and grazing, waiting for the joy of harvest. However, when the war came as scheduled, they had to flee their homes, whether it was Georgia or Russia, this was not their name after all. People left one by one, and in the end Ivo and the orange farmer Margos became the only two residents of the village, and it was the beautiful kumquats that had matured but had not been picked to stay here at the risk of them. From the beginning of the movie, Ivo’s resolute expression when he made the fruit basket, we never imagined that the war would happen not far away. Ivo may not be able to guard the land he loves, but he will at least guard his heart so that it will not be affected. The sound of guns disturbed. But can you really do it? Ivo has been asked countless times the reason for not leaving, and Ivo always speaks silently. This is not so much a kind of inner peace, as it is a protest against the storm in his heart. He defeated loneliness with silence, and swallowed it with tranquility. The hustle and bustle.

In Melville's masterpiece "The Silence of the Sea", German military officers live in an ordinary French family. They go from isolation to understanding, but the continuation of emotions will never escape the crush of the identity curse and turn into a sea. Silence. In "Kumquat", the director also placed the two main subjects in the war: soldiers and civilians in a closed space-"home", letting them think about the meaning of war and the value of life. Compared with "The Silence of the Sea", Ulushadze puts the soldiers on both sides of the war in the battle, and his dramatic conflict has become more prominent, and the theme is more intriguing.

The concept of "home" is not only the key to the final mutual understanding between Russian Chechen soldier Ahmed and Georgian Nika in "Kumquat," it is also the starting point for all actions of Ivo and Margos. At the beginning of the film, when Ahmed picked up the photos of Ivo’s granddaughter and was ordered to put down by Ivo, we can see that Ivo put the family first in his life, and his final stay here is also related to the family. Compared with Ivo, Margos is a more typical epitome of the Estonians of Abkhazia. He has no emotional connection with his motherland, Estonia, and even more so for both sides of the war. He gave all his emotions to "Kumquat". "This is not for fame or profit, but the center of his life is oranges. The director used the dumb Margos to pay tribute to the hard work of the Estonians for the prosperity of this land. They left their homes and allowed golden fruits to grow on a strange land, but this land did not thank them, but instead used artillery to cost them their lives. The kind, simple, and optimistic Margos watered Abkhazia with his love. Even the flames and ashes did not hinder this love. His home was ruthlessly bombarded and destroyed. Margos was still working hard for the orange picking.

Compared with Margos, Ivo's love is deeper. As an old man, he is more familiar and emotional about this land than young people. He witnessed the creation of the village from scratch, and witnessed the Estonian people building their own homes with diligent hands. When he saw Ahmed and Nika hurt each other, he always used family-like love to tolerate, even though this love was often silent, but inadvertently a cup of hot tea, a greeting to young people who left their hometown to participate in the war In terms of it, isn't it a return of emotion? Ivo, who has seen through the hypocritical nature of the war, has experienced the tragedy of bereaved family members and family separation. Ahmed and Nika, who are also separated from their relatives, are suffering from homesickness all the time. Ivo has already learned from them. Seeing the shadow of his son, is it not for Ahmed and Nika? From Ivo's words and deeds, he also felt the warmth of the family.

In the face of family and love, the grand national and national myths of the war became insignificant. Ahmed and Nika, in the gradual contact, they discovered that the "estrangement" that the two sides had valued before turned out to be so fragile. Are different accents important? Are different religious beliefs important? Are different educational backgrounds important? Maybe these things are more important than different musical tastes! Those similarities other than these differences are the catalysts for their final reconciliation. They found that they both had dreams for each other. Ahmed participated in the war as a mercenary and wanted to earn money to make his family live better, while Nika wanted to perform on stage after the war and become a real actor. They also found that each other had a high respect for life. Ahmed made a promise to the savior Ivo, and Nika used his life to protect the integrity of the home. When they tried to harm each other with their lives, Ivo said, "For "Cheers to death" made Ahmed and Nika re-examine their attitudes. They had been "alive" for nothing before. At this moment, in front of campfires and barbecues, they have become so important again in their love for their families. , I used to be so naive and ridiculous.

"Young man, what's wrong with you, you keep saying that I want to kill, I want to kill, who gave you the power to do that"

"war"

"Too stupid"

This dialogue between Ivo and Ahmed is undoubtedly the most direct expression of the film's reflection on the meaning of war. Without respect for life, the tragedy of war will repeat itself. No one has the right to deprive an innocent person of life at will. Just like the golden orange, it always reminds us of the beauty of life, but now it is witnessing humans killing each other. Blood and tears. The anger and criticism in "Kumquat" only stopped here. The director didn't need to give the audience too much subjective moral preaching. He used short and sudden shots to speak. The war scenes in the movie took place almost outside the screen, so the killing in the war that we directly witnessed at the end would be even more shocking. Within milliseconds, a fresh life was swallowed up. We once witnessed it being difficult. Earth resurrection, witnessed the return of life, the return of humanity, but suddenly the war took it away, just because the dialect is different, we are going to kill each other?

Ivo and Margos, they wanted to be a bystander, but in the end they had to become victims. The war ruthlessly ruined the things you cherish the most. Abkhazia is a symbol of ethnic conflicts after the end of the Cold War. This is historical ruthlessness and helplessness. Ivo's generosity is actually his persistence in the love of life. This kind of love transcends the narrowness of the nation, transcends the resentment of the loss of relatives and homeland, and becomes our common emotional appeal. Ivo has witnessed too many partings from his hometown, from his son’s life and death, and from his granddaughter. In the end, he has to face another parting. The ending of the film is short, but the emotions are long. De got into the car that was already full of bullet holes and released Nika’s most beloved tape. The contradictions about different musical tastes were also resolved. Race, religion, class and even musical tastes all turned out to be nothing more than this. The wind is light, and only the love and tolerance represented by life, dreams, dignity, and kumquats are so heavy, dragging us, hesitating on the edge of love and hate.

View more about Tangerines reviews

Extended Reading
  • Alfonso 2022-03-27 09:01:13

    At first, the hut was the boundary of hostility. Later, the sweetness of kumquat made the two young people put down their grudges. The existence of the old man is the greatest beauty in the world. Peace is really good.

  • Isabell 2022-03-21 09:02:37

    It's really neat and succinct, except that it's a little too allegorical or politically graphic - the Abkhazia problem in Georgia is a bad deal,

Tangerines quotes

  • Margus: Soon there will be rain.

    Ivo: There will not.

    Margus: They will be here soon.

    Ivo: Who?

    Margus: The Georgians and Russians. And the tangerines will stay in the trees. You know what this war is called? The war of citrus.

    Ivo: What do you mean?

    Margus: It's a war over my tangerines.

    Ivo: Be normal. They are fighting for the land.

    Margus: For the land where my tangerines grow.

  • Ahmed: I will avenge my friend. This is a holy thing for us old man, you don't understand.

    Ivo: Killing a sleeping man, when he is unconscious, is that a sacred thing too? I didn't know.