Grzeli nateli dgeebi is a film from Georgia shown as In Bloom (2013) in the U.S. It was directed by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß. Nana Ekvtimishvili is also the writer.
The film takes place in the Georgian city of Tbilisi in 1992, shortly after the disintegration of the U.S.S.R. Although life is not easy in Tbilisi--people are always standing in line waiting to buy bread--the movie doesn't depict widespread misery. Young people are attending school, and there's enough food on the table for everyone we meet. (I assume this is an accurate portrayal of the situation at the time, although I have no way of confirming this.)
The film is, at its core, a coming-of-age movie about two adolescent girls--Eka (Lika Babluani) and Natia (Mariam Bokeria). They are best friends and manage to protect each other, as much as possible, from male aggression and bullying.
Things don't work out very well, but I can't say more without spoiling the movie. I can say this much--there's a wedding in the film, and one of the friends gives the bride the gift of an incredible folkloric dance. It's very different--at least for me--from what I expected an Eastern European folk dance to look like, but it's truly beautiful.
We saw this movie at the excellent Dryden Theatre in Rochester, NY. However, it will work well on DVD. I noticed that most of the IMDb reviews of In Bloom came from Eastern European viewers. I don't know whether that's because the movie has had limited release in the U.S., or because U.S. viewers just haven't been motivated to review it.
The good news is that, as I write this review, its IMDb rating is a very high 8.1. So, those who have seen In Bloom really, really like it. That supports my suggestion to seek it out and view it if at all possible.
