13 Tzameti

Directed and Written by Géla Babluani

In French director Géla Babluani’s first feature, 13 Tzameti, we follow Sebastian, a somewhat naive and desperately poor immigrant worker, as he steals a mysterious letter intended for his suddenly deceased neighbor and employer. He then follows the cryptic instructions therein and unwittingly becomes involved in an illegal, high-stakes gambling enterprise—as the 13th player in a deadly game of Russian roulette.

Set in provincial France, and imaged in high contrast black and white, the world of 13 Tzameti is an entirely unforgiving, relentlessly brutal place—a stark landscape of survive or die. Escape doesn’t exist.

Sebastian, convincingly played by Georges Babluani (director Géla’s younger brother), is an appealing everyman whose character arc turns out to be destiny itself. You care whether or not 13 will be his lucky number.

Tzameti (pronounced zah-ME-ti) means 13 in the language of Georgia, the country where Babluani, now 26 and residing in Paris, was born and lived through three devastating civil wars.

Although its premise is quite simple, 13 Tzameti’s riveting plot shoots dead ahead, as straight as a bull’s eye bullet, for 90 minutes. If, at times, 13 Tzameti’s chilling, thrill-packed scenario calls to mind several other winner-take-all movies (most notably The Game, and those unforgettable tension-filled Russian roulette moments in The Deer Hunter), the film is unique in delivering Babluani’s intensely personal, highly original vision:  His shooting style is appropriately rough and spare (which may be thanks in part to the happenstance of low-budget self-financing). He elicits searingly raw and confrontational performances from his actors and never indulges in distractingly chic, self-consciously clever gimmickry.

Philosophically, 13 Tzameti provokes serious thought about man’s extraordinary capacity for cruelty towards other men and raises questions about to what degree we are or are not responsible for determining whatever befalls us. Cinematically, it’s gut-wrenchingly exciting. And, put simply, it’s equally thrilling to witness the emergence of an exceptionally talented new filmmaker. 

13 Tzameti, which won the 2006 Sundance Festival’s Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema, is slated for an English language remake, due for a 2008 release. It’ll be interesting to see if Babluani—given what will undoubtedly be a much bigger budget and probably some big name actors—can sustain his unique artistry. Meanwhile, the French version of 13 Tzameti is a must-see, nouvelle-Noir masterpiece.