13 Tzameti

When I can't pick something to watch, I decide with my anal-retentive pharmacists' mind, to watch movies in alphabetical order. The first movie in my collection that I hadn't seen was 13 Tzameti, one I had gotten more than a year ago, and never got around to watching. Mostly because I had no idea what to expect, except that it was foreign, in black and white, and involved guns. Usually, those three things make a for-sure awesome film, but for some reason I still kept putting it off. I am kicking myself now, because it was AWESOME.

I am a noir-thriller film newbie, to say the least. I think I've seen all of four noir-ish films, and they were all Alfred Hitchcocks', and even though I enjoyed them all, I enjoyed them with the respect I reserve for film classics. That is to say, I have a soft spot for classics, but current films are my number one dames. When I viewed these older noir films, I couldn't help wishing that some director, somewhere, would make a really great noir-thriller film that would update the genre.

And so I came upon 13 Tzameti, the answer to my hopes. With my fingernails firmly embedded into the cushion of my chair, I was taken on a stark, desperate, thrill ride through the story of a handsome young man, who unknowingly makes a terrible decision, and ends up playing a modified Russian roulette in a dingy basement, forced to put his and others' lives at stake. The cinematography, in black and white, is beautiful, and I really wish more films would take advantage of the crispness that is available today for black and white films. Supposedly, The Mist was supposed to be released in black and white, and I personally think the film would have been even better if it had been.

The film starts out a little slow, but moves quickly into thriller territory, where it firmly remains for the duration. Hold on tight, this is one shocker of a film that will stay with you.