Mystical cinema is one of the most sought-after genres for the world cinema industry. Its production began a long time ago and is still very popular today. Every year, hundreds of such films are made in the world. Mysticism in itself implies that it should contain fictional stories with paranormal events, adventures of maniacs and murderers, etc. However, it is possible that there is a minimum number of terrifying scenes in mysticism. In this case, the audience experiences fear in the background of tension and mystical changes. In Georgian cinema, there have always been attempts by directors to try their hand at this genre, even in very small numbers. Special interest has appeared in recent years, when works have been created that have their say through expressive methods or the intensity of the main topic. Among them is Lasha Meunargia's debut film, "Another Way" (2020), which tries to show a genre not so well known to Georgian cinema taking into account the laws of mysticism.
This film tells the story of one family. Alex and Nata go out of town with their young child, Babi. Alex decides to change the way. Another way will be fatal for them, and those who have crossed the parallel world will have to find out how much strength they will have to return to normal life, if they can find their missing child and solve the family conflicts that have been bothering them for a long time.
Producer Ketevan Khatiashvili mentions in one of the interviews: Everything was put together by the three of us (meaning: the director, the director's wife and herself): Lasha organized the lighting, make-up, driving, as well as cameraman’s duty, he didn’t hand in the camera to anyone. Filming took place over three years, without financing, with a film camera bought in instalments. All this reflects very much the film in a negative context. In addition, they had to dub the film, which made the work lose its naturalness, speech became theatrical, screams, laughter, even emotions all seem artificial.
The main task of the filmmakers is to think of the logical plot of the story down to the last detail. When the audience learns the truth in the finale, it must look realistic and believable in the context of the events shown, otherwise the story leads to disappointment, and it happened in the example of "Another Way." To prove it, the scene of hypnosis is enough. Is it easy to guess why the writers decided to make this episode. Because the main idea of the film ought to be clear to the audience, however, the episode takes the work in a completely different direction and turns the original idea upside down.
Certain episodes make you want to turn a blind eye to the fact that it's just a film but at the same time, the illogicality of the actors' actions is so obvious that it's almost impossible to take it for granted. The emotions of Nata's friend, who goes to comfort them after losing their child, are weak. After listening to her dialogues, the question arises, how adequate is she, does a person actually behave in such a situation?
The story of the main character's lover is completely sidetracked and second-rate. It doesn't affect the plot in any way, it doesn't develop the characters, it's just an event and it just happened. There is a gun hanging on the wall, but it does not fire in any action. If this line is an indication of family conflict, then it has not achieved its goal. The existence of the lover is forgotten from the beginning and it is difficult to equate it with the conflict.
Despite the fact that "Another Way" is a mystery in its full sense, it also exhibits elements of drama and detective, although it does not fully cope with any of the proposed genres. The drama had to be revealed at the expense of demonstrating the parents’ inner emotions. Despite their efforts, the actors could not convey to the audience the natural emotions that accompany the disappearance of a child. The detective cannot be justified by the presence of policemen in the film, who do not take any important step in the development of the main plot.
The film does not contain particularly gruesome scenes. The atmosphere that pressures the viewer is achieved through emotions and feelings. As the director refrains from unnecessary movements and presents everything superficially, without depth, it is not possible to reveal one hundred percent of the mystical genre. It was necessary to show more mysticism. It is true that from the beginning there are strange events, but they are few and unsubstantiated. Everything is shown scattered, but in the end nothing in particular is focused on. The film plays with several genres, not because it was intended to be like that in the first place, but only because the director lost the narrative line at the very beginning of the story.
The filmmakers have not fully revealed the essence of the film and some moments seem unfinished. From the first minute, the audience is indulged in a dull, heavy atmosphere. There are jumps in time, the past is intertwined with the future, and vice versa. At first, it is confusing, but slowly it becomes understandable.
Many questions arise, why is there no interesting action in the film? In fact, there is no investigation, but there is also a lot of useless information. In addition to the main line, there are also some secondary stories introduced here, which are completely unrevealed and have nothing to do with the main story. Although they were written to reinforce the main line, they do not actually work. It is unclear whether the policeman's murder is unrelated to the girl's disappearance. What was the need to bring in the former investigator (Duta Skhirtladze) if he had nothing to do with the investigation. Duta Skhirtladze's acting level is worth noting here because despite his episodic role, he is memorable and interesting. Gia Gabrichidze’s hero is also presented at a high professional level.
The film had a lot of potential if the script could have been developed better and the audience would have been able to get answers to their questions. None of the numerous characters are deeply presented, all the heroes are superficial.
The film is quite fast. There is a sharp transition from one scene to another, so it is difficult to concentrate on something specific. Some episodes may seem boring, but in the end, you don't even notice how fast time flies.
The film is quite fast. There is a sharp transition from one scene to another, so it is difficult to concentrate on something specific. Some episodes may seem boring, but in the end, you don't even notice how fast time flies. The film is shot in gray tones, which is undoubtedly always a plus for this genre. The dark colour palette looks good – a forest shrouded in fog and a strange girl with a doll in her hands create an atmosphere of tension. Considering that the film was created at its own expense and with the actors’ unselfish support, the audience will be pleasantly surprised by its visuals.
The combination of music and visuals is interesting. It is different and often changes. Sometimes even very sharply, although all this, considering that events often change as well, is fully justified and well conveys the emotion of inevitability and the atmosphere of excitement.
The plot clearly lacks coherent intrigue, and important episodes lack tension. Nevertheless, from time to time it still attracts the attention of the audience. As soon as you start watching, you can already imagine how it all ends. The overall impression of the film was also spoiled by the scene of the meeting with Irma Jikuri, where the author went too far from unreality.
The work can’t be called bad but there's nothing exciting about it either. It doesn't ask special questions, it doesn't provoke thought, it doesn't reflect actual problems and, most importantly, it doesn't show real challenges.
What matters to the film is whether you believe it or not. Unfortunately, "Another Way" gives up its positions, the plot cannot become convincing. Perhaps, the final perception still depends on which way the viewer looks at it.
Teona Vekua
