Man is the most cruel animal on earth. Only he can destroy everyone and everything around him for his own well-being. His ego is so strong that he can even succeed over the raging waves of the sea. Recently, society has lost its ability to empathize. People do everything selfishly and do not think about the future and thoughtless steps often have disastrous consequences. Money stands above their emotions, it is precisely the ruling force in everything. It is his fault that society is divided into social classes. According to the law of nature, the weak and the penniless are oppressed, while the rich rule everything. Slowly, people, like Venice, are sinking into their own material world.
Rusudan Chkonia's film, "Venezia" (2024) is a mirror of modern society. The story takes place in an unfinished building, where apartment owners have been waiting for the completion of construction for seven years. It seems like nothing is happening, but it is precisely in this expectation that the true image of people is revealed. The place "Venezia" is cursed, sinking and dragging others with it. It resembles the Garden of Eden - the place from which the sins of humanity began. The plot of the entire film, except for the game of ego, is nothing. Desperate residents are fighting for their home. One of them must go down to the basement and live there, but no one wants to go down. This is the reason why relationships are collapsing like the walls of a barely built building. Even relatives do not forgive each other. Each of them cares about their own well-being and does not think about others. The main question is still who gets the short end of the stick, that is, who will go down to live in the basement, and this unanswered question turns everything upside down.
The characters are interestingly chosen. Only a few stand out, around whom almost the entire film revolves: Niko, a lawyer Nene, Razhiko, who has just been released from prison, Zuriko, priest Mamuka Esadze (Father Alexander), and Kote, who became disabled during one of the incidents. Among them, a choice must be made as to who will live in the basement. Father, the representative of morality and faith, is also drowning in the swamp of ego. Niko walks around dressed in a jacket and trousers and looks down on everyone. Father does not attend the residents' meeting, although someone needs to swap a house for him. In addition, as a priest, he is an excessively proud man, he also has a lot of money, he does not want an apartment smaller than ninety square meters, he cannot afford it. Neither does he want to live in the basement submerged in water. Initially, the psychological violence begins with Kote. They mention that he is unable to get to the upper floors with a wheelchair and has no other way out. It's also interesting that the building doesn't have an elevator. Ideally, the basement should be convenient for Kote but not in this condition. Since they can't do anything about the boy's resistance, the residents leave him for a while and choose a new victim. Next is Rajiko. This time they try to make him feel guilty and agree to live in the basement. Rajiko is tough and rude at first, even while arguing with a representative of the construction company, but in the end he gives in and agrees to do anything to end the argument. Now he's not allowed down there anymore. The residents change their minds a hundred times (the situation is unstable and goes out of control a hundred times). Sometimes they jump out like a hurricane and start fighting, sometimes they're like a breeze. They sit together and caress each other. Everything is like a "seesaw." Even though a whole day has passed, there is still no solution in sight - the basement is still empty and the contract has not been signed. Alex does everything he can to reach an agreement, but all his efforts are in vain.
The half-built walls of the Venice building hold sentimental stories: separation, love, arguments, and even death. One resident, Micho, jumped from the top floor. Razhiko was caught and when he was released from prison, he had no place anywhere. It is also symbolic that he moved to the basement, living like a hermit. The cause of all their misfortunes is this building. After Razhiko, it was Zura's turn. Now he was targetted and psychologically harassed. They even focused on his sexual orientation. It is unclear why the director needed to appeal to his sexual orientation. This particular fragment did not contribute anything to the plot. It is like an unnecessary outgrowth. The topics scattered throughout the film do not coincide with each other, which is why it is unclear what Rusudan Chkonia wanted to say. The black comedy attributed to it in the synopsis is also superficial. It is somewhat influenced by Buñuel's film "The Exterminating Angel" (1962). The director seems to have imported the plot and ineptly adapted it to the local reality. The dialogues between the characters are weak. They neither reflect reality nor provide any important information to the audience. Everyone already knows what kind of problems construction companies are, and there is nothing new in that. The only bright spot is the man who enquires about his apartment every hour. The intimate relationship between Kote and Nene is not an important element of the plot either. Because of such passages, it is unclear what the film is about, why is it a black comedy? Just because the elements it depicts are sometimes visible?
A film is valuable when, at the end, it makes you think about something, makes you sad or happy, or gives you some hint about life. What is left after the end of this film? Nothing.
The residents of “Venezia” agreed and signed the contract. Everything was over, they settled, sat around one table, and just when the script was about to end, Niko’s phone rang in the peace and quiet. The voice on the phone offered them a new place to live, a new story took the plot in a circle.
The director tries to show the absurdity of society with this film, but in the end she herself gets lost inside it. The film becomes a hostage to its own idea, and the audience leaves the hall as if the water of Venice has spilled beyond the screen - and everything has returned to where it began.
Barbare Kalaijishvili
