13 TZAMETI (Palm Pictures series #1)

France has become the new home of the gritty, visceral film. It was/is the country of choice for sensational provocateurs Michael Haneke and Gaspar Noé and currently nurtures the most interesting and/or popular contemporary horror films, Kim Chapiron’s SATAN (SHEITAN), Alexandre Aja’s HIGH TENSION (HAUTE TENSION), and Fabrice Du Welz’s THE ORDEAL (CALVAIRE). 13 TZAMETI isn’t a horror film or even very gory, but it’s as austere as any of these films.

A claustrophobic semi-neo-noir, masterfully photographed by Tariel Meliava, the film tells the story of an underground gambling ring that plays an orgiastic version of Russian roulette. Thirteen participants (desperate people in need of cash) form a circle and aim a gun, loaded with a pre-determined amount of bullets, at the head of the player in front of them and after three delayed rounds a winner is determined. Wealthy men wager large sums on the players they think will survive. Sébastien, our down-on-his-luck protagonist, unwittingly became a participant after assuming the identity of a dead man, lured by the rumor of quick cash.

A wonderfully simple premise it’s prone to dynamic interpretations including sports obsession, gambling extremes, and most fascinating of all, as allegory for the American political structure. The exploitation of the poor, in the name of greed, is the most predominant idea explored by the film. Each participant (read: citizen) is associated with at least one coach or sponsor, essentially a representative (read: politician) put in place to keep the participant under control and focused on the job at hand. The moments between rounds are as excruciating as the game itself. The misery in the tiny crowded room that the participants wait in while the wagers are placed is nearly unbearable. You can smell the sticky sweat and taste the muggy air, a credit to the spot on performances and the grainy black and white photography. Many of the participants take this time to inject morphine, provided by the organization (read: government) running the event, to calm their nerves. This, of course, alludes to the belief held by many that the government pumps drugs into the poor sections of cities as a means of oppression.

The participants take all the risk, do all the work, while the fat cats just sit back and rake in the dough from their wagers. After the “winning” participant has risked his life and made unimaginable amounts of money for the representatives and the organization, he is expected to tip (taxes) not only them, but the men who organized the event. I don’t think I’m ruining anything by telling you that Sébastien comes out the victor, but the following sentences may contain information you don’t want to know. After escaping from the organization (he fears they plan on killing him) Sébastien hops a train. On the train he runs into the brother/representative of the man he killed in the final round. Instead of lashing out at the system responsible for his brother’s death, the man turns on the hapless participant. The film concludes with this depressing example of the misdirected anger manifesting itself as violence on the streets of America every day.

Suprisingly, mature for a first time filmmaker, Géla Babluani is certainly a director to keep an eye on. He picked up five festival awards for his efforts here, including one from Sundance and another from Venice (1). Sébastien was played perfectly by his brother George expressing his emotion with very little dialog. 13 TZAMETI will be available from Palm Pictures on February 13th, 2007.

1. This is according to the imdb.