#Merab jest jak gruziński Janko Muzykant

[batri-jopa]

And Then We Danced / და ჩვენ ვიცეკვეთ (2019), dir. Levan Akin

#ATWD amateur guidebook

Soundtrack & Lyrics - Prologue [go to: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5]

Note:

Here's the old man's speech. There's no music in the background right now (kind of distinctive that it's been roughly interrupted?) but I still think it's a key moment to understand how important the music is in this movie:

The old man is so sure of himself when lecturing the boy of what ქართული ცეკვა (georgian dance) really means.

What he doesn't know though is that this young dancer before his eyes already is someone who impersonates "the spirit of our nation" the best.

We can be sure that Merab truly loves traditional dance of his nation, as well as the rest of the georgian culture he grown up with. Whenever he dances he can't hide how much he enjoys it. Every free hour he spends watching old historical films with traditional georgian dance.

While other guys spend the night in town, he'd rather be practicing in his room in the middle of the night or in the studio early in the morning. Even above his own bed - there are no posters with football-players you might expect of a boy at his age - but only dancers of traditional georgian dance. Merab is simply a young passionate guy totally devoted to the culture and tradition of his ancesors. Just look how his eyes glow when he can try on this festive chokha!

But all in all he is just a quiet, sensible boy. And so whenever his emotions rise that he can't otherwise express - we can hear the music, as if it was his heart singing! Sometimes it sings with old folk tunes, sometimes with modern georgian music. Sometimes with popular music which is not georgian at all... and yet Merab manages to always make it a little more georgian: either by dancing kintouri moves to ABBA or wearing papakha to Robyn's song.

That's how you continue ancient tradition with youthful vigour. A perfectly mixed up cultural cocktail with no false taste - exactly what "a spirit of our nation" should be.

And yet this potential is wasted. All the voices telling him he's not good enough (his dad) or not tough enough (his teacher) he can still endure. But only until the moment when social expectations of his beloved "traditional" culture take away his love - and break his heart...

He will not be this nation's spirit anymore

Because "there is no future" for him in Georgia

--------------- go to Part 1 ------------------

--------------- go to Part 2 ------------------

--------------- go to Part 3 ------------------

--------------- go to Part 4 ------------------

--------------- go to Part 5 ------------------