Chay Ali Chahvadze: A Ghost of a Movie

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you like movies that feel like they were rescued from a literal basement. If you want a tight, logical plot, keep walking. You will probably hate this if you get annoyed by long, lingering shots of absolutely nothing happening. But if you’re into the kind of film that feels like a weird, grainy memory? You might find something here.

The whole thing feels like it’s being held together by duct tape and sheer willpower. Fyodor Kiselev walks through these scenes with a face that says he’s trying to remember if he left the stove on back home. It’s not necessarily a bad performance, just a very confused one.

I found myself staring at the background more than the lead. There is this one shot in a hallway where a door is hanging off its hinges, and for like thirty seconds, I was just waiting for it to fall. It never did. That's the movie in a nutshell. A lot of waiting.

It’s nowhere near as polished as The Joyless Street, which actually bothers to build an atmosphere that sticks to your ribs. Here, the atmosphere is mostly just fog and a weird, buzzing sound that happens whenever things get slightly dramatic. 🙄

The weird stuff

• There is a scene where someone eats a sandwich for way too long. It’s hypnotic.
• The lighting changes in the middle of a conversation like the sun just decided to quit.
• Fyodor’s coat looks like it has a life of its own.

It’s not trying to be Crime Without Passion, and thank goodness for that, because it would fail miserably. It just exists. It’s a bit like watching someone else's old home movies where you don't recognize anyone, but you can't stop watching because you’re waiting for a fight to break out.

The pacing is a disaster, but a fascinating one. Sometimes it moves at the speed of a snail, then suddenly jumps forward three weeks. You just have to roll with it. Don’t try to make sense of the timeline. It’s not worth the headache.

I think the director might have just been vibing. Some shots look like they were framed by a guy who had never seen a camera before, and then the next one is actually kind of pretty. It's a total toss-up. 🤷‍♂️

Anyway, I’m probably never going to watch it again. But I’m glad I did. It’s just so... odd. Sometimes that’s enough.