Sunday, August 19, 2007

Edinburgh International Film Festival - The Legacy

In The Legacy, A group of French tourists and their interpreter are travelling through the former Soviet republic of Georgia. While they are on a bus, a young man and his grandfather get on carrying a coffin. The coffin that will be for the grandfather when his enemies have killed him. The tourists are fascinated by the story of two feuding villages and follow the two men. What follows is a journey not only into the traditions of blood feuds in the mountains of Georgia but also a critique of tourist attitudes to foreign cultures, and the dilemmas facing an interpreter who doesn't approve of tourists but relies on them for his income. The film is beautifully shot in stunning mountain scenery and understated in its treatment of its themes. I found it particularly interesting given that I had recently read Ismail Kadare's novel Broken April, which is set amongst blood feuds in Albania.

The Legacy will show again at 16.45, Monday 20 August at the Filmhouse.

No comments: