Our take
13 Tzameti is a unique suspense movie from Georgia and the debut of director Géla Babluani. This film explores the life of a migrant worker from Georgia working in France, who literally gambles his life in a high stakes game of chance organized by powerful criminals. 13 Tzameti won the World Cinema Jury Prize at Sundance in 2008, and of course, a not nearly as good American remake. Do yourself a favor and check out the original!
What it won
Venice
2 wins
Sundance
1 win
César Awards
2 noms
The story
Sebastian, a young man, has decided to follow instructions intended for someone else, without knowing where they will take him. Something else he does not know is that Gerard Dorez, a cop on a knife-edge, is tailing him. When he reaches his destination, Sebastian falls into a degenerate, clandestine world of mental chaos behind closed doors in which men gamble on the lives of others men.
Elsewhere
"That calmness -- and the work of both Babluani brothers is weirdly stilled and mature, already devoid of the need to show off -- serves only to thicken the horror."
— Anthony Lane
The details
The Substance
Coralie Fargeat
Raw
Julia Ducournau
The Whistleblower
Larysa Kondracki
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
José Padilha
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Andrew Dominik
Layer Cake
Matthew Vaughn
Foxcatcher
Bennett Miller
The Double Life of Véronique
Krzysztof Kieślowski