Time passes quickly and destroys everything slowly. It is like a train that you have to chase. Those who cannot catch up are lost and cannot continue living. This pace is faster for artists. They always try to find something new and to interest society again. What happens when life does not go according to their wishes and when swimming against the current stops? After several attempts to survive, everyone gives up and follows the current of the river.
People give up and stop developing. How difficult it is to watch a person who has given up, from whom even the last part of the moss he clutches has been taken away. Levan Svanidze, the character of Keko Chelidze's film, “Holidays of Dead Souls” (2020), tries to reestablish himself in society. He goes from bar to bar with his only bass guitar eager to play it once again and remember old, forgotten emotions. He is made to feel that no one needs him anymore. His old band, “Letter,” continues its existence without him. At some point, a man becomes too much in this world, and the only one who keeps him alive is his mother.
This is how all artists might finish their lives. This thought keeps running through his mind after the film ends. What would have happened if Levan had had a carefree life and had made his mother happy? Wouldn’t his music be diverse? It is necessary for a musician to suffer, to be in pain, and not to be happy. No one wants to listen to songs written about happiness. People feed on other people’s pain.
The film tries to remind the society who Levan Svanidze is, who plays the melody that everyone has been listening to nonstop since the 1990s, and what the reality of an artist is like. Everything is read like this - Levan couldn’t keep up with the times. He didn't even ask Gia Toidze for help and brought himself to this situation himself. His weak psyche could no longer withstand the problems and started drinking. Vodka ruined everything. He couldn't express his emotions in a different way. He didn't even go to the planned concert. He seemed to be ashamed of himself. He didn't want people to see him what he had turned into. His character has no excuse. At first glance, everything seems sad and tears come naturally every second of the film, but Levan's character, in this case, still has no excuse. If he had been a little stronger and hadn't been alone in asking to play in bars, something would have worked out. He might have tried and been with the band. He didn't even try to talk to his friends normally. He preferred the easy way to the difficult one and bought vodka once more.
The 1990s were difficult in everyone's life. Some tried to adapt to that period and survived. Those who couldn't adapt were swallowed by time. Levan neither survived nor disappeared completely. There are many words to say after the film, but it is difficult to talk about a person you didn't live with. No one asked him how he was. No one tried to save him. There was no one to throw away his glass and tell him to stop drinking. He didn't feel the support of his friends and thought he was alone in facing a whole series of problems. Neither love or friends, nor work, nor financial well-being. When he drank, he still had problems, but his drunken mind could no longer comprehend all this. He might be happy for a few minutes.
Why didn't he come to play at the concert? There are two possible answers to this question. The first is that he was afraid that something would go wrong. He drank and didn't know how to play at the concert. He also realized that he no longer remembered the old melodies as well as he thought and he couldn't leave his mother alone, a woman who called him almost every three minutes. The second answer is more difficult and sad - he didn't come because he thought he was no longer needed. Someone else would have played instead of him and the concert would not still lack anything. He could not find his place next to Gia. It is difficult to say which of these two answers is correct. However, both opinions have the right to exist.
The film showed one more reality. You cannot find a normal job in Georgia without acquaintances. You cannot get financing for a project if you do not have influential friends. When choosing a profession, you have two options: first, choose something that everyone opts for and have a guaranteed salary. You may not be happy, you may not like what you do, and second, be an artist, compose music and play it, make a film or even dance ballet, but do not have a carefree life. There is a danger that in this case you will end your life in a fourteen-square-meter apartment.
“The country will never calm down” - Levan was right. 5 years have passed since the film was shot, and everything is still the same or worse. There is such an expression: “An actor must be hungry, he must be thirsty,” and here a feeling of protest arises. Why? Can’t happy actors perform well? Has anyone tried to create a carefree life for them and received a bad play or film in response? This phrase was invented by people who think that an artist is no longer needed. If Levan had a lot of money, wouldn’t he be able to sing well or write new music? What did he do wrong that he had to worry about money his whole life to survive? Why aren’t lawyers poor in this small Georgia against the background of such a miserable economy, why are artists poorer than representatives of other professions?
“Cinema is not for sale,” said one man, justifying the fact that there was not enough equipment to shoot a film. How can a film shot with half-defective equipment be sold? It's ironic that you either have to have money to survive in Georgia today or know someone because of whom you will be respected.
Levan Svanidze had a difficult psychological condition. He could not emigrate, he could not get married, he could not move to another place to live, he could not leave his mother. The woman felt bad as soon as her son closed the door and went out. What could he do, how could he live normally in these conditions. At first, everything seemed that his mother was a heavy burden for him, not allowing him freedom. To some extent, this was true, but when his mother got ill, Levan realized that he could not live without her and Lamara was the only one for whom he could breathe.
His music is called: “Until We Meet Again.” As it turns out from the available information, Levan wanted to reunite the group “Letter” and play with them. However, it did not work out. He died shortly after the “Holidays of Dead Souls” appeared on the screens. Now he will at least be free there.
Despite the huge problems, the majority of Georgian musicians created, played and sang with only enthusiasm, without any financial gain, electricity or heating. They dreamed that in the future they would have normal conditions. This continues today. In this regard, nothing has changed since the 1990s. Those who managed to leave Georgia developed themselves elsewhere. Those who could not leave, continued their lives like Levan. He is a victim of circumstances and is not to blame for anything. In the end, it turned out that his friends abandoned him. In fact, everyone is to blame for such a radical change in his life. I wish he had found love. If he had lived elsewhere, he would have been at the peak of his career in another country. Despite numerous obstacles throughout his life, he tried to take steps forward. He carried CDs with his songs everywhere but nothing worked out. Sometimes, everything is in vain despite his efforts.
“Holidays of Dead Souls” left the next generation with a story about what kind of life the musician had in recent times, but nothing is said about his previous life. About the period when he was in a successful career and gave concerts. This sad documentary only reflects a part of his life, and this is the flaw of this entire film. The group “Letter” still exists, and hopefully, the public will hear Gia Toidze’s voice for a long time to come.
Levan’s story is no exception - it is a common reality. If nothing changes, if an artist continues to have to survive with enthusiasm, then there will be no music, no cinema, and no future in this country.
Barbare Kalaijishvili
