Adolescence is one of the most complicated periods in a person’s life. This is the age when one first tries to make independent decisions, form his own identity and confront the world that used to decide everything for him previously. Yet, the desire for freedom does not always mean the opportunity of freedom. Young people often grow up in an environment where their future is shaped by the influence of traditions, social status or economic problems. In such a time, personal choice is gradually lost and a person becomes a hostage to a reality that he did not create himself.
Giorgi Mukhadze’s film “When You Are 17” (2024) tells us about such a reality. The main character, Amo is at an age when he should independently determine his own life but he does not have the chance to do so. On the one hand, he has been engaged since infancy to marry according to the Yazidi tradition however, the social environment and poverty that bring him closer to the criminal world, limit his freedom; consequently, the film does not tell the story of just one teenager. It is also about a society where a person’s future is often decided but not by him.
The main force of the film is Amo’s character. He is not a typical rebel who openly opposes rules. His protest is silent and invisible. Amo wants to decide his own future but the environment does not allow this. The Yazidi tradition does not manifest itself in his life through violence or direct compulsion. It is a part of everyday life that those around him perceive as a natural phenomenon. That is why its influence is so strong. When a person’s future is determined in his childhood, the desire for freedom gradually takes the form of resistance, although this resistance does not fully develop in Amo’s case. He is constantly caught between two states - he must leave, but he has to stay.
In this situation, the boy is somewhat like an elephant trapped in a zoo. He has strength, desire and a need for freedom but he is forced to be confined to a narrow enclosure. Amo often says more with his silence than with his words. Tension and dissatisfaction are constantly visible on his face, although these emotions cannot find a specific direction. The viewer feels that the character wants to escape from this environment, but he does not know where to go or whether there is a real escape.
The second important topic of the film appears against the background of this situation - social and economic reality. Amo’s engagement into the criminal world is not only for the desire to make money. It is an attempt to escape the monotonous and unpromising environment in which he lives. The film clearly shows how risk and lawlessness can become an illusion of freedom for a young man who can no longer adapt to his own reality. Initially, getting involved in drug crime seems like an opportunity for independence and change for Amo, but soon this too becomes another problem and a vicious circle.
Jessica’s character plays an important role in the process. Jessica is not just an object of romantic interest for Amo. She represents the world to which Amo aspires. His relationship with Jessica gives him the feeling that he can still change his life. That is why he continues to do dangerous work even when the risks become obvious. Money is no longer his main motivation over time. It becomes more important to maintain a connection with Jessica, because he can see the freedom in this relationship that he lacks in his own life.
The final blow comes from the criminal environment. Guro, who was a kind of support for him in this world, betrays everyone and gets out of prison at the expense of this. At this moment, the illusion that friendship, devotion or mutual trust exist in such an environment is shattered. Amo realizes that even in the world where he was looking for a way out, he was actually just a used person. This discovery even more exacerbates his loneliness.
This is where the most difficult change in the character begins. Amo gradually becomes so absorbed in this life that he himself becomes part of the circle from which he was trying to escape. For him, his connection with drugs is no longer just a way to make money. He slowly destroys his own future. Perspective disappears, the goal is lost and it becomes increasingly difficult to get back. The protest that was still felt at the beginning of the film also vanishes. Indifference and fatigue take its place. Amo might still be looking for a way out, but reality has already wrapped itself around him so tightly that any attempt seems belated and futile.
One of the film’s distinctive elements is the visual environment. Tbilisian suburbs are shown as a gray, monotonous and confined space. Narrow streets and the same everyday life create the feeling that the characters are moving in the same circle. The city is not just a backdrop here. It reflects Amo’s condition and further intensifies the feeling that the main character is in a dead end. Amo’s inner state is best read in his behaviors and reactions. The actor conveys the character’s emotions without unnecessary words, which makes Amo more natural and believable. Nevertheless, the pace of the film slows down in some sections. Individual episodes resemble each other, which is why the plot loses its dynamics in places.
The film's main weakness also appears here. Both the Yazidi tradition and the drug crime topics are interesting, but the plot does not devote enough time to both. As a result, some important conflicts remain only marked and are not fully developed. Therefore, after the film ends, more questions than answers do arise.
The finale does not offer us clear replies. The director deliberately leaves the character in a state of uncertainty. This is not just a plot means, it is a natural continuation of Amo's life. The film shows a young man who has not managed to cope with the forces that exist around him, but has not fully reconciled with them either. Therefore, the finale leaves a sad and melancholic impression rather than a tragic one.
"When You Are 17" tells the story of a young man who is constantly trying to escape the boundaries imposed on him, but each attempt leads him to a new dead end. Amo's tragedy is not only in drug crime or confrontation with traditions. Every path to freedom eventually becomes a new obstacle. That is why, Amo’s face is the one we remember most after the film ends - like an elephant trapped in a zoo, a young man feels that the cage is too narrow but still cannot find a way to set himself free from it.
Barbare Kalaijishvili
