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Three generations of women coexist within a tangle of love and resentment in Julie Bertucelli's sometimes bleak but tender directorial debut Since Otar Left. Set in contemporary Georgia, the ghost of Soviet rule still haunts the lives of this fractured family, just as the absence of their beloved Otar - son, brother, and uncle - impinges on their ability to properly relate to one another.

Nino Khomassouridze holds the weight of the world on her shoulders as Marina, caught between her stubborn mother Eka (Esther Gorintin), and her daydreaming daughter Ada (Dinara Droukarova). Although Marina is eager to please her mother, that's mostly because she feels forced to compete with her brother Otar for approval. Thousands of miles away in Paris, he remains the apple of Eka's eye.

After Marina receives news of Otar's death, the rivalry doesn't dissipate but instead intensifies. Worried about how the shock will impact on Eka, she initiates an elaborate pretence, enlisting Ada to write letters home as though penned by Otar. But the plan backfires when Ada weaves such fanciful tales about her uncle's exploits that Eka decides she must go and see for herself.

"THE PORTRAYAL OF THE WOMEN IS VERY INCISIVE"

Although the premise is rather obvious, and at times a little too full of its own whimsy, the portrayal of the women is very incisive. Bertucelli subtly demonstrates how the insecurities and frustrations, which threaten to unravel a family, also tie them together. The complex dynamics are served well by solid performances from all three leads, in particular, the acting debut of Esther Gorintin. The 90-year-old former dental assistant manages to be simultaneously hard-as-nails and touchingly sincere.

Indeed, Gorintin's scenes towards the end of the film offer the only jolt of emotion in what is otherwise a very detached dissection of family relationships. Bertucelli's camera is distant most of the time, avoiding sentimentality but creating a sense of aloofness that jars with the intimate themes. Even with its faults, however, Since Otar Left should live long in your memory.

In Georgian and French with English subtitles.