Georgia Alone

The horrific war in Chechnya a neighbor of Georgia gives a special poignancy to Otar Iosselianis fascinating fourhour madefortelevision documentary on Georgia which like his delightful Chasing Butterflies SFIFF 1993 was produced in France Iosseliani presents the history of this former Soviet republic through beautifully interwoven images of landscapes artwork and clips from other Georgian filmmakers such as Nikoloz Shengalaya and Tenghiz Abuladze He illuminates the part played recently by two politicians both KGB men but with very different destinies Zviad Gamsakhurdia an ultranationalistic demagogue who died in exile and Eduard Shevardnadze who is the president of Georgia today