Tamta Melashvili's "Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry" was recognized in literary circles as the best Georgian novel in 2020. This fact received mixed reviews from critics and society. Part of the public was delighted with the work largely appreciating the author's courage and attempt to bring taboo topics to light in Georgia, talking about women's problems from an angle that is only discussed behind the scenes. Some accused the author of stereotypical thinking. Despite the mixed attitude, the fact is that Tamta Melashvili's work turned out to be so relevant that shortly after its publication, Elene Naveriani revived Etero’s image in the cinema.
The character of the film "Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry" (2023) tells us her own story, an episode in her life, when there appears her loneliness, the unfriendly attitude of society towards her lifestyle, and constant bullying. The author tells us about that period in lonely Etero’s life, when the fear of death awakens her, when she arouses from the monotonous routine and feels the beauty of the world anew, looks at it with delight like a child and with renewed energy begins to “taste” life, to fight for life and freedom.
The authors of the film follow Tamta Melashvili’s storyline, although they intensify the feminist narrative. When transferring from one language to another, unfortunately, the depth and diversity of the problems raised in the literary primary source are lost. Tamta Melashvili analyzes the close relationship between these two worlds through reality and memories, characterizing the character’s lifestyle and peculiarities, the attitude of her father, brother, and society, and their influence on Etero’s life, conscious or thoughtless choices.
Etero’s past appears in the film in only a few episodes, giving the viewer the opportunity to read specific messages. After her relationship with Murman, the presumable, imaginary reaction of the deceased father and brother emerges through the topic of family bullying. This small episode shows the scale of influence that forms strict self-censorship over the years as a result of various forms of violence. This episode shows us that any step taken in life revives the character’s past experiences and inner feelings. Constant control, restrictions, obligations and responsibilities from the family, humiliation, blame for her mother's death, and the resulting low self-esteem limited her scope of action and defined her "forbidden zones."
Having come to a party with her neighbors, Etero receives hidden aggression from her childhood friends just because she is lonely. The cynicism and false sympathy shown by the women neighbors further aggravate the situation. Hidden aggression appears in the dialogue, an attempt to belittle the life and existence of others, and to humiliate the personality with a sense of superiority over her own situation. The relationship between Etero and society is complex and multifaceted; the villagers perceive a spinster as an inferior member of society, and it is incomprehensible to them how a person can be happy or even satisfied in solitude. Beyond criticizing the lives of others, each of them thinks little about how much they themselves were able to be happy in a family environment. Etero rudely confronts her friends’ unfair assessment. On the one hand, she tries to protect herself in this way and on the other hand, to look in the mirror and expose her interlocutors. Etero's story is typical for Georgia.
In today’s Georgia, when statistics show increased numbers of femicide, when there is constant exclusion of people with different lifestyles, thinking, and bullying, it is difficult to talk about the moral image of society. The more internally unrealized people there are in society, the more aggressive they are. In this immoral environment, only external, visible well-being for others matters. Stereotypical thinking becomes dominant and comfortable for the majority, since it is easier to adapt in such an environment. The characters of the film also live in such a society. Limited by clichés, they silently try to be happy. However, the level of moral development of a society is determined by its ability to accept people who are different from it, physically or spiritually weak, vulnerable, those who cannot and/or do not fit into the accepted standards, do not follow the norms established by society.
Etero’s almost lifeless body pulled from the ravine, soiled in the mud and resting on the road becomes the subject of the villagers’ interest. In the shot, the camera seems to pause for a few seconds on the body. This pause is the moment when a new person is born from the “deceased” Etero: awakened, bolder, a little more aggressive, in love with the world.
Tamta Melashvili’s heroine is a woman harmoniously united with nature, disillusioned with life, but emancipated, while Elene Naveriani’s Etero is an independent character, imbued with feminist ideas, with a strong inner constitution, who after years managed to free herself from the past and the heavy pressure of society.
Murman is an accidental character in Etero's life, who comes to her for a moment, leaves his mark and disappears. Having come to her after changing jobs, he tells her shyly and emotionally about his dreams and future plans. The common future planned in advance, precisely written out by him, causes a feeling of protest in the woman, and that is why she rejects Murman.
In the final scene of the film, desperate, lonely, and terrified Etero goes to Tbilisi to hear a harsh verdict, but “even from the mountain of despair, one stone of hope can be carved out,” and this one stone is a new life that is born in her body.
Entering a cafe to perform her favorite ritual, armed with coffee and a piece of cake, Etero stares for a long time at the ultrasound results and the still shapeless body of her future child. And it is at this moment that her truly new life begins, with a new status and place in society.
The authors of the film offer an open ending, leaving the viewer with room to think. How will society accept Etero and her child? What awaits the middle-aged single mother?
Maya Levanidze
