Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here, ready to blow your fucking mind, literally, with a new film from the former Soviet Union, one that had me ready to piss my pants from the word "Go."
Normally, when I speak of films as being raw or brutal, I'm talking about some horror film featuring loads of torture and/or gore. But 13 (Tzameti) is an entirely different, although no less gut-wrenching, monster. The winner at the 2005 Venice Film Festival for Best First Feature and the Grand Jury Prize World Cinema at this year's Sundance Film Festival, 13 (Tzameti) tells the story of a poverty-stricken young immigrant named Sebastian (Georges Babluani), living in Eastern Europe and never quite having enough money to take care of his family. While doing roof repairs on a neighbor's home, he overhears a discussion about a package that the receiver says will make him a rich man. Sebastian swipes the package, which contains information that leads him to a series of meetings and eventually being taken to a secret location. The police are on his tail because they have a sense that something horribly and grossly illegal awaits Sebastian at the end of this journey. They are correct.
Assuming the identity of the package's original addressee, Sebastian is horrified to discover where this road to riches takes him: a gambling ring in which the gamblers bet on contestants engaged in what can only be described as Extreme Russian Roulette. Sebastian is given a number (13) and made to stand in a circle with other men, each holding a gun and a bullet. The bullet it placed in a chamber, the chamber is spun above the head and slammed in on command. Then the guns are lowered at the head of the man in front of you, until the signal to fire is given. With each round of play, the number of bullets increases, the bets get higher, and your chances of surviving the round decrease. So why do these men play the game? Because they need money so desperately, they are willing to die to get the big payoff that goes to the winner. As a player, you have two things to hope for: that the guy behind you doesn't have a bullet in his chamber; and if he does, that the guy behind him gets his shot off before the guy behind you gets the chance to shoot. Needless to say, every second of this film is a nail biter.
This black-and-white insanity trip comes courtesy of director Gela Babluani, who has an absolute gift for building tension that never lets up. The man is ruthless and he sets the bar high for his relentless trip through one man's Eastern European hell. By the time you get near the end of the competition, the players are mentally destroyed and the audience won't be faring much better. Can you image during the course of just a couple of hours thinking three or four times that you were going to die? Maybe a bullet in the brain is just what these guys need. This powerful piece of mind-fuckery is a lot to handle in the film's 90-minute length, but I swear you will not come out the other side the same person. And don't think for a second that the end of the contest is the end of the film. Director Babluani has a few sucker punches waiting for you before the final credits roll. Here's one piece of advice for you: don't forget to breathe while watching 13 (Tzameti); it will keep you from fainting.
Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
