Primitive society lived in harmony with nature. People created, collected and built all necessities themselves. They survived on fishing and farming, provided life with each other’s help. At that time, the concept of property did not exist yet. Then the introduction of trade and money radically changed the structure of society. Money formed rich and poor classes. The concept of property also appeared, and this is where the problems began.
Nino, a character in Nutsa Aleksi-Meskhishvili's film "Line of Credit" (2014), tries to solve financial problems by taking out a loan. She does so and uses it to pay off other loans until she finds herself in a swamp and infects other people around her. She has not thoroughly understood the problem and thinks not about eliminating it, but about stopping it for a while. It's like when everything hurts and instead of going to the doctor, you force yourself to drink. The woman thinks that if she ignores reality, she will immediately change and find herself back in time when her father solved all her problems. Having grown up in luxury, she began to travel here and there by taxi with borrowed money as if there was no public transportation. In a city where there are many buses and metro.
Irma works at Nino's bakery. She is trying to save money and leave Georgia to work in Greece. As it turns out, there are not so good conditions. Leo's wife works abroad, takes care of an old man and sends enough money to Leo's caregiver. It's a bit of an ironic issue. Irma's emigration turns out to be a better condition than her iron bed. She has a goal and, unlike Nino, she does everything to achieve this goal. Nino's family stares at Gudiashvili’s painting, who her son secretly sold and had a friend paint a copy instead.
Gudiashvili's painting is a symbol of past luxuries and illusions. Having sold and replaced it with a copy is a metaphor for Nino's financial crisis. The theme of debt is used throughout the film as a metaphor for slavery, which emphasizes Nino's weakness and dependence.
On the one hand, the main character of the film is a woman who has to burden the entire family load. She tries to give her family everything she thinks they need and at the same time maintain her image in society. On the other hand, she is a thoughtless person who does not look ahead, into the future. How can a housewife like her have debts and a bad life for others? Not under all the glittering paper there is expensive chocolate. This is exactly Nino's life – full of debts and disappointments. Where is happiness? Nowhere. Throughout the film, happiness is either not there, or they do not look for it.
The family misses the old life. The time when Amiran was alive and everything seemed like paradise through pink glasses. The main problem is not in debts, but in upbringing. Neither one of them was used to hard work. Amiran was stealing from the Soviet authorities, Nino – from relatives. The woman also raised her children incorrectly. One cares about nothing but the phone, while the other gambles and loses even what she does not have. As they say, an apple does not fall far from the tree, and so it happened to the boy.
Nothing could help the woman. Neither the fortune teller, nor the priest. because she might not have wanted to be saved. She did not think of finding another job, not taking on debts and continuing her life, but the family did not let her go.
In some ways, she resembles Manana, the character from Nana Ekvtimishvili’s film “My Happy Family.” Unlike Manana, Nino is a weak woman. She has not done anything worthwhile for the country, nor has she found happiness and freedom. But most importantly, her husband is not unfaithful, although he does not stand by her side either. No one and nothing bothers the man. This woman has a useless one next to her, instead of a son from a good family, whom she chose among many men. The man might also have his own problems, a crisis that he does not talk about with anyone.
Manana and Nino are strong female characters of modern Georgian cinema, whose lives reflect the influence of the patriarchal environment and social system on women in different but interconnected ways. Manana tries to release herself from family constraints, while Nino struggles for financial survival and is forced to make concessions. One strives for personal freedom, while the other tries to stand firm economically, the path of both women is full of internal struggle and difficult decisions. Comparing these characters clearly shows how different choices of women living in the same society are reflected: Manana leaves her family, while Nino gets tangled up in the financial system, although in both cases their struggle for independence requires sacrifice and inner transformation. Manana achieves freedom, while Nino loses it.
Debt is like slavery. Nino gets into debt due to financial difficulties and her life becomes more and more like slavery. She loses control over her life, is forced to make difficult decisions, and constantly feels pressure from creditors. There is no way out, and she too adapts herself to fate.
“Line of Credit” can be considered a modern film parable, which presents the eternal dilemmas of human values against the background of social reality. Universal topics, such as poverty, debt and moral compromises, give the film an allegorical content and make the viewer think about the place and role of the individual in modern society. Nino’s struggle with financial difficulties is symbolic and reflects a person’s constant search for survival in a system that often works against her. The moral message of the film pushes the viewer to reevaluate material and spiritual values and to realize that human relationships and dignity are often more important than financial well-being. The symbolism used in the film (for example, Nino’s house becomes as empty as her pocket) further strengthens the parable nature of the story.
Where did the problems start? The woman acted recklessly. She borrowed the same amount of money as she was supposed to get when selling the plot of land and went on a trip to Egypt with her husband. Then she could not sell the land, nor could she repay the loan. Her carefree life became a little sweeter and she got used to taking on debts. Finally, she reached the edge of the abyss and even hurled herself into it. However, selfishly, she dragged others along with her.
Despite everything, the film is distinguished by weak dramaturgy. The plot is about nothing but a problem that has been discussed over many times. The director tries to raise other issues besides debts and make everything more global, but unfortunately, it looks more like a list, which resembles the form of notes placed on one page at the end of a book – a text that in most cases no one reads.
Barbare Kalaijishvili
