Gakra: A weird, quiet little movie that sticks with you

Is this thing worth your time?

If you like movies that move at the speed of a snail and rely entirely on mood, you'll probably dig it. If you need a plot that actually goes somewhere by the second act, you’re going to hate this with a passion. It’s not for everyone, and that’s perfectly fine.

The whole thing feels a bit like watching a home movie that accidentally turned into an art house project. There’s a specific scene involving a kitchen table and some tea that goes on for, I don’t know, maybe three minutes too long? It felt like I was literally sitting there with them, waiting for someone to finally say something, anything, at all. ☕

The vibe is everything

Kirile Macharadze has this way of looking at the camera where it feels like they’re judging you personally. It’s incredibly distracting but also kind of hypnotic. You don't get that in most modern blockbusters, where everyone is just hitting their marks and waiting for the paycheck.

I couldn't help but compare the pacing to the quiet, dusty corners found in A Soul Enslaved. There’s a similar feeling of people trapped in their own heads, even when they're standing right next to each other in a room.

Small, weird things I noticed:

• The background noise is mostly just wind and distant, unidentifiable clanking.
• The lighting in the second half changes from warm yellow to this weird, sickly blue, and I'm not sure if it was a stylistic choice or if the bulb just burned out.
• Aleksandre Jaliashvili wears the same sweater in almost every shot. It looks scratchy.

There’s a moment near the end where the camera just drifts away from the characters to look at a crack in the plaster on the wall. It stayed there for a good while. It was actually the most interesting part of the scene.

Maybe it’s not a masterpiece. It definitely has some moments that feel like they were improvised while the crew was on a lunch break. But there’s a pulse here. It feels real, in a messy, imperfect sort of way.

I walked away from it feeling a bit tired, but in a good way. Like I’d spent all day at the beach and forgot to put on sunscreen. It’s a strange little film. Watch it if you’re in the mood for something that doesn't try to explain itself to you. 🎞️