The List

The Legacy

(Géla & Témur Babluani, France/Georgia, 2006) 77min
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The Legacy

Writer/director Géla Babluani heads back to his native Georgia for the follow-up to his gripping debut feature 13. A trio of French tourists and their local interpreter venture deep into the mountains to track down a property one of them has inherited from a distant relative. When they encounter an old man and his grandson (Georges Babluani) transporting an empty coffin, the outsiders become dangerously involved in a long-running blood feud between rival rural families.

It’s an interesting premise, and the atmospherically shot The Legacy succeeds in drawing a convincing portrait of an impoverished country, where the state appears to have scant legal jurisdiction over its citizens (as a belligerent police chief observes, ‘The people here have their own laws.’) There are plenty of intriguing supporting characters, yet Babluani and his co-director father Témur seem reluctant to explore the relationships between the protagonists. And with a short running time, and a perfunctory conclusion, the film seems noticeably under-developed. (Tom Dawson)

Filmhouse, 623 8030, 19 Aug, 7.30 & 20 Aug, 4.45pm, both £7.95 (£5.50).

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