A simple, dour and beautiful story of breaking free from the choices made for us.

A delightfully sullen Etero (Eka Chavleishvili) is 48, runs a village store, lives alone, and her sole pleasure is picking and eating blackberries. When she has a near death experience and encounters an inspiring blackbird, she re-evaluates her life. This includes having sex for the first time with hapless deliveryman Murman (Temiko Chichinadze). But what might signal a romance for others, becomes a wrinkle for Etero that highlights all that dissatisfies her.

Hers is a world of women – her abusive father and brother are long gone, her mother died when she was born. Her well-meaning but nosey and judgemental neighbours and friends are like a flock of crows. They peck at her, gleefully bring bad news, and are quick to take what she discards.

Elene Naveriani creates a rather beautiful if austere mise en scène, and Chavleishvili is a convincing and surprisingly likeable character in Etero. Her independence in such a conservative space is admirable.

Overall, it felt a little flat and lacking in depth. The ending is satisfying albeit unsurprising and perhaps a bit too neat. I’m interested to know, though, what that sweet, flaky pastry Etero loves was. Maybe it’s Napoleon Cake.

Director: Elene Naveriani
Origin: Georgia (2023)
Language: Georgian with English subtitles
Genre: Drama

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