Eldar Shengelaia’s “Blue Mountains, or Unbelievable Story”

Trick Track Trolling the Soviet System

Abstract

Eldar Shengelaia’s ცისფერი მთები ანუ დაუჯერებელი ამბავი / Tsisperi Mtebi Anu Daujerebeli Ambavi / Blue Mountains, or Unbelievable Story is as relevant in the current Georgian political context as it was when released on Georgian screens in 1983. This article examines the political context and critical reception surrounding the film, focusing on the visual, dramaturgical and filmmaking techniques – such as repetition, absurdity, and allegory – employed by the director to convey political commentary. However, an analysis of Shengelaia's earlier films, particularly არაჩვეულებრივი გამოფენა / Arachveulebrivi gamopena / An Unusual Exhibition and შერეკილები / Sherekilebi / The Eccentrics (1974), proves essential, as these works, alongside Blue Mountains, form the triad of his most significant contributions to cinema. A comparative study of these films is also vital for contextualising Iurii Bogomolov's landmark 1978 article, demonstrating key critiques regarding Shengelaia's oeuvre and the broader Georgian cinematic landscape. Bogomolov's essay catalysed dialogues between Georgian and Russian filmmakers, notably at the Iskusstvo kino editorial office in Moscow the same year. Georgian filmmakers perceived the article as criticism from an imperial centre, viewing it as an attack on Georgian cinema. Overall, this analysis prioritises the complex political and colonial environments surrounding Georgian cinema, recognising that any discourse on this subject devoid of historical associations is fundamentally reductive. Contemporary Georgian filmmakers increasingly reflect on Georgian cinema traditions, which, on its end, is complex, comprising both resistance narratives and opportunistic engagements. Young Georgian filmmakers address governing political elites using quotes from Shengelaia's works to advocate for creative autonomy. In the thirty-fourth year following Georgian liberation from Soviet occupation, these filmmakers are demanding what Eldar Shengelaia sought in the early stage of his creative career – freedom.