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A health expert turned filmmaker makes his East Coast premiere
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13 Tzameti
Directed by Gela Babluani

Review by Aaron Riccio

First-time director Gela Babulani has created the cinematic equivalent of the shot not heard round the world in "13 Tzameti" – a chillingly taut drama where the empty click of a gun is just as potent as the shot itself. Once Babulani gets beyond his initially teasing camerawork and transforms his protagonist, Sebastien, from a financially-strapped immigrant in rural France to an accidental contestant in the illegal world of a high-stakes Russian-roulette tournament, we have an effective bit of suspenseful noir on our hands.

Georges Babulani searches for luck in all the wrong places in "13 Tzameti."

The first thirty minutes of "Tzameti" are admittedly protracted: Babluani uses a lot of silent, close-up shots of the tournament's participants, which show the transformation of those who may die at any moment. We watch in horrified anticipation as Sebastien’s demeanor changes – from when a gun is first held to his head to when he makes his first kill. Credit the actor Georges Babulani for making the minute twitches in his eyes so natural, and credit his director for keeping the focus so coolly dispassionate and methodical. These are smooth, professional shots, shrouded in just enough darkness to make the light roil with tension, and the overall mise en scene succeeds in transforming mundane objects and sounds into nerve-shattering effects.

The thematic elements of "Tzameti"– i.e., how a man's blind greed thrusts him into this illicit world, and then how his transformed character returns to his ordinary life – are nowhere near as entertaining as the film's ability to frame the imminent threat of a bullet in the head. Babluani's attempt to create a meaningful character arch for Sebastien seems rote and formulaic. It’s unfortunate to see Babulani’s style backfire in this way, and the only solution – to pare down – would prevent the film from being feature length. The film's abrupt but inevitable conclusion will also displease most audiences: it's too much of a rush job and too easy a solution. Take "13 Tzameti" as an interesting character study, exquisitely shot but not developed enough beyond its murderous core.