What is love? A sea of pain, joy, disappointment and obligation. The feeling that pulls you towards that one and tries to make you give up everything. Because of this feeling, a person will go to all compromises. Sometimes individuals make wrong decisions in a state of affect. The thirst for revenge makes their minds so tarnished that they don't care about anything anymore, they don't think about the consequences, they just stand up and do what they think is right.
"What kind of shooter is he, how does he know where to shoot" – it turns out that Mamuka really didn't know where to shoot. The main conflict of Levan Tutberidze's film "I Will Die Without You" (2010) begins with this phrase. Mamuka's thieves killed her brother, Datushki and revenge became his main driving goal in life. At a glance, Mamuka is an ordinary, unremarkable boy who has two lives. In one, he takes care of an old woman, trying not to deprive attention. His other life is dark and full of danger. He almost sleeps with his gun.
Along with Mamuka, the main character of the film is Zaza. Mamuka is a criminal, Zaza is an ordinary romantic writer. They do not know each other, but they are connected to each other by invisible threads. Zaza loves two women and cannot choose. His first love is Ninaka, who is also loved by his pal Petruchio. Ninaka is, involuntarily, a femme fatale – a seductive, beautiful woman who brings misfortune to everyone she is romantically involved with. Ninaka can't make a choice either. She wants to be with Zaza, but, at the same time feels sorry for Pertuchio, and this pity outweighs everything. Petruchio sits in a wheelchair and doesn't even try to stand up. He hates himself so much that he even has a gun hidden in the house, just in case.
Everyone in the film is unhappy. Mamuka doesn't know what to do, Zaza risks and gambles with fate, Ninaka is in agony, Rigley had his dog killed. They all have different stories and experiences, but they seem to be spinning on the same axis, unable to separate from each other. Zaza is one step ahead of death each time, but in the end he still smokes and is killed by Mamuka’s stray shot in his beloved woman’s entrance. He was killed in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended his life exactly the way that most delusional romantics do – with a bullet. The main story line started and ended with a shot. In the morning, the thieves shot Datushki and in the evening Mamuka shot at the thieves in order to take revenge, but the writer Zaza was killed. Two unknown people decided each other's fate.
This film, shot in 2010, repeats the well-known stories of the 1990s. They are still shooting aimlessly in the street, again gangs and thieves are at the head of the groups. Everyone is afraid. It's like years haven't passed. Each one has a bullet prepared for himself in his pocket. Zaza did not want to live. His conversation was like saying goodbye to friends. He was going but he didn't know where. He seemed to feel that the day was about to end. He bought a ring but not for Ninaka. No character deserved a Hollywood "happy ending." All were doomed from the beginning. They don't talk to each other very often. They just sit in the same room and look at each other with disappointed, meaningless eyes.
Why didn't Mamuka go to the police when Datushki was killed? The answer is simple. In the time when thieves enjoyed authority, he could not be an informer. Along with himself, he decided the fate of others. He wanted to be a punisher. He did not even ask the reason for killing his pal.
In the credits, two main characters are written, but in reality the main character is Zaza yet. Everything revolves around him. His life slowly demolishes and finally he dies. The film is about unrequited love, fear and fragmented friendship.
"I'm done, you won't see me anymore" – says Zaza and leaves his friend's house. He seems to have caused his own death with these words and similar attitude. All of them are prone to misery and do not even try to do anything for happiness.
The film does not stand out much with its script. There is almost nothing special about it. It depicts another day in the 1990s, with the same problems, emotions, news. The story is not about tragic love, nor about the wheelchair-bound Petruchio, or about the penniless romance writer. It is about everything and nothing. It covers a lot of topics and nothing leads to the end.
"I Will Die Without You" – who are these words about, Datushki and Mamuka, Zaza and Ninaka, or Rigley’s dog? There is emptiness in everyone's heart and everyone is dead by their own will. Some physically, some spiritually. Zaza died without knowing who he loved or who needed him. For Pertuccio, his brother's death was the push he needed. He got up from the wheelchair and tried to take a step. Perhaps it would have been better for him if Zaza had died by now. What would have happened if Roma had not been afraid and had really took the thieves downstairs. Then would Mamuka die? It's hard to say.
It would be good if a little more time was devoted to the characters’s lives in the plot. The shots are superficial. Nothing is known about them except a story or two. Petruchio's story is also known only through video. Mamuka actually appears when Datushki dies. Who Datushki was and why he was chasing diamonds is also unknown. It is clear that the entire film is nothing but a shot. This movie smells like death.
Zaza wanted to leave and he really did. He got up, kissed Ninaka on the forehead and closed the door. He came to the other woman for a marriage proposal but changed his mind at the last second. Perhaps he loved Ninaka more or he didn't. Or maybe he just wanted to be with Ninaka because he knew he would hurt Petruchio. Petruchio was jealous and unintentionally blamed his friends for his misfortune. Morning comes and everything changes. Zaza is dead, so is the dog. In the street, only Petruchio and Rigley stand facing each other and cry. At least something is left from the film – hope for a dawn.
Barbare Kalaijishvili
