Under The Radar Pick Of The Month - 13 Tzameti

So each month I have a plan; and that plan is to try and review an underrated or under-seen movie. The first installment of my Under The Radar Pick was a stunner - 13 Tzameti. 13 Tzameti has one central conceit that is the backbone of the movie, and I don't know why someone hasn't thought of it before, because HOLY SHIT it is awesome. Rather than just tell you outright what it is, lets get into the details.

First off, this is a foreign film mainly in French. It is a film noir, shot entirely in black and white. If black and white, low budget, foreign films turn you off, then you are an ass in my book;but if that kind of shit doesn't make your bull run, then just skip this one all together. With that out of the way, although this is low budget, it is one of the most tense, heart- thumping pieces of cinema I have seen in a while. 

13 Tzameti starts off with our main character Sebastien, a Georgian immigrant living in France with his destitute family. He is trying to make ends meet and he takes a job repairing a roof for a man named Godon, who also happens to be a morphine addict. While Sebatien is repairing the roof he keeps hearing the addict and his girlfriend argue about money and talk about some mysterious job that is apparently dangerous, but pays extremely well. There is a shadowy figure who is watching Godon's house, taking pictures and is keeping a close watch on the mail that is arriving each day. One day a striped envelope appears in the mail. Whatever the information is in the envelope, it is obviously important to many people. Shortly after the arrival of the envelope, Godon overdoses on morphine and is found dead in his bathtub. Godon's girlfriend leaves a window open and the striped envelope blows out the window. Sebastien finds it outside as he is working and takes the envelope. Since Godon died, the impoverished Sebastien will not get paid for his work and his family can barely afford food. Sebastien looks in the envelope and finds a train ticket to Paris and a reservation in a hotel room. He needs money for his family, and since he overheard Godon and his grilfriend talking about the envelope and the potential money involved, he decides that he will take the envelope, head to Paris with the train ticket and see what this job is all about.

This is where 13 Tzameti really starts to pick up steam. It is almost impossible to talk about this movie without some spoilers, but knowing what I am about to impart will not ruin the movie for anyone, but be forewarned, some mild SPOLIERS LAY AHEAD. If you are interested in this movie and want to go in without knowing about any of the mystery, then stop reading here. You can just take me at my word that 13 Tzameti is a tense, thrilling, film noir, that was obviously made outside of hollywood and is completely and epicly awesome in its badassitude. OK, still with me? Lets press on....

So, our protagonist Sebastien hops on a train to Paris and heads to the hotel room. He is also being followed, by people we learn are police officers. He arrives in a dingy hotel room and gets a call; the man on the phone tells him to head to a locker in a train station and gives him a combination. Once at the locker he opens it up to find an envelope with more instructions. The instructions tell him to get on a train, but to get off the stop before the marked stop on the ticket. Sebastien follows the instructions, which is a good thing, because it helps him to avoid johnny law. He then takes a taxi to the middle of nowhere, gets out, and another car arrives for him to take him to another destination. He finally arrives at an abandoned house in the forrest where is is then searched thoroughly, then transported to his final stop. 

The really great thing about this whole exchange is that we have no idea what is going on, the only thing that we know and that Sebastien knows is he is doing something potentially dangerous and potentially lucrative. The suspense builds, but it is nothing compared to what is ahead. 

We finally arrive at a secluded house in the woods. Rather than get bogged down in more details, lets just get to it. We know something shady is about to go down, but don't know what. This is where the tension is really ratcheted up as we learn that he is there to participate is an illegal russian roulette game. Obviously Sebastien wasn't supposed to show up, but the wealthy men basically tell him he can participate and possibly live, or they will just kill him; he really has no choice but to take part. 

This isn't your normal russian roulette game either. 

There are 13 men that participate in the game. Each man is handed a revolver and one bullet. They then stand behind each other, with the gun pointed at the back of the other participants head. They spin their cylinders and are all told to watch a light-bulb in the middle of the room, once it lights up, they have to shoot. The tension that builds up to this first round of roulette is stunning. My heart was pounding, and the actor playing Sebastien really exudes a sense of dread and despair at the situation that is laid out before him. I don't want to give much more away, but obviously a few of the men die, and some don't. With each subsequent round of roulette they are given one more bullet, increasing the odds that they will kill someone or be killed themselves. Also, with each round there are bets placed on each participant. Millions of Euros are being bet on each round, and the winner, or surviver in this case, stands to win an assload of cash. You feel terrible for Sebastien because he has no choice but to participate, but you are also disgusted at the men betting on this demented game, but at the same time you also wonder why any of these other men playing roulette willingly participated.

After each round, we are left to wait with the participants of the game  and watch their dread and tension build. Some take morphine to cope with the stress, others seem to relish in it. With each ensuing round, waiting for that light bulb to turn on is a nail biting experience. 

The conclusion of the film is a real punch to the gut, and it doesn't really end like you expect.  It was a very satisfying ending, one that you definitely wouldn't see in a conventional film. It is an ending which really focuses on the film noir stylings and I couldn't have been happier about how it play out. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if a major director like David Fincher or Scorsese remade this one, because it seems like something that would be right up their alley. My only real criticism of the movie is that its low budget roots show through in certain scenes. If they had a better cinematographer on this movie, it would have made a big difference. Still, the story, the acting and the idea behind 13 Tzameti more than make up for the low budget nature of the film. There is a reason that this movie won the World Cinema Jury Prize at Sundance in 2006; 13 Tzmeti truly is a film that builds a palpable tension and keeps you guessing throughout the entire running time.

For any fan of film noir, thrillers or even crime genre movies, 13 Tzamati is a must see. Skip the usual fare next time you are reorganizing your netflix queue and take a chance on a small film, with an awesome premise.