Me, Grandma, Iliko and Illarion

In 1961, the book by the young prose writer Nodar Dumbadze—"Me, Grandma, Iliko and Illarion"—was published. The book’s success in Georgia was loud and universal. Readers of all ages were absorbed in the adventures of Zurikо, a village boy who came to study in Tbilisi.

The Kote Marjanishvili Theater staged the story right after its release. Later, the story’s popularity crossed the borders of Georgia. In the film "Me, Grandma, Iliko and Illarion," Tengiz Abuladze’s talent for poetic and philosophical generalization, growing out of everyday life facts—sometimes comic, sometimes sad, yet always simple—showed itself most fully. The film tells about life in a Georgian village. And it covers a fairly significant period in the characters’ lives: the peaceful time before the Great Patriotic War and the war years. We see Zurikela’s adolescence and youth. The film has no rigid plot; the narrative is built freely, and almost the entire city part that is significant in the story here is reduced to a simple note: Zurikela left to study in the city.

The director’s main goal is to show how, under the influence of life events—both small and large— the person is formed: their worldview and character. Changing much in the plot compared to the story, abandoning many dramatic lines and turns, Abuladze managed to preserve in the film a lyrical tone colored with gentle humor— the main stylistic feature of Nodar Dumbadze’s story—protecting touching episodes from sentimentality, and raising the dramatic parts to tragic intensity. In the film, tragic, epic, and comedic elements are organically combined. Through the distinctive feature of everyday life and the bright, vivid language of the characters, Abuladze deeply revealed the national character of his people. The action is limited to the outskirts of a Gurian village and only for a short while moves to Tbilisi; there are only a few heroes: the grandmother under whose care Zuriko is, the one who in the credits is designated by the pronoun "I" and from whose perspective the film story is told; the elderly neighbors Iliko and Illarion, who voluntarily take on both the joy and responsibility of raising and shaping Zurikela; his friend Mery; and the fellow villagers, the school teacher. But at the same time, deep layers of life—life that had never appeared on screen before—are touched! The life of a Georgian village, the war that suddenly broke out, the wartime years, were seen anew and grew into a truly philosophical generalization. The story of one little village became the story of an entire people. And it was matched by strikingly accurate characters, full-bodied and subtle humor.