My Happy Family
Director: Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß
Year Released: 2017
Rating: 2.5
Unhappy schoolteacher Manana (Ia Shugliashvili), married to Soso (Merab Ninidze) and living with a extended relatives, decides she needs to move out and live alone (apparently a major no-no in the country of Georgia) and refuses to give an explanation as to why, causing the already dysfunctional family to become even more animated. I'm taking it this is some sort of feminist statement from collaborators Ekvtimishvili and Groß, but the details are sparse (she does discover Soso sired a child with another woman years prior ... although I'm not sure how she didn't hear about that sooner, considering everyone has loose lips) and there isn't much of a third act: does she fold and go back? Does she double down and stay? It's curious that Manana's inner-world is a mystery (though the songs give clues), but her refusal to open up keeps the movie's true potential locked in its own box.