13 Tzameti

Theatrical Release Date: 2006 07 28 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 660200314729

Studio: Palm Pictures

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Violence, Adult Situations, Profanity]

Summary: An aimless 20-year-old with a penchant for following the rules receives a mysterious set of instructions that lead him down a path from which he may never return in director G?la Babluani's tense tale of death and chance. S?bastien has come into possession of a train ticket and a mysterious set of instructions. Though he is unsure of exactly what fate awaits him when he arrives at his destination, one thing is certain: these items were most certainly not meant for him. Bored by his uneventful existence and hungering for something new, S?bastien boards the outbound train and takes his first bold steps into an unknown future. But the world can be a cruel and unforgiving place filled with unfeeling men to whom human life means little more than a lost wager, and if S?bastien is to make it through his harrowing journey alive he must keep his wits about him and pray that luck is on his side. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Thriller

Awards: World Cinema Jury Prize - Dramatic – Sundance Film Festival

Features: Interview with director Gela Babluani and Actors Georges Babluani and Aur?lien Recoin
The DVD design contest - top 13 finalists
Sunday's Game - a short film about some nice old ladies
Deleted scenes
Testimony of a survivor
5.1 surround sound
US theatrical trailer
Palm previews
Weblinks

13 Tzameti

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 02/13/2007

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 90 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) French

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- 13 Tzameti
1. Laborer [7:13]
2. An Overhead Conversation [5:25]
3. An Untimely Death [4:20]
4. A Deal for the Letter [6:22]
5. To Paris [3:35]
6. The Journey Continues [4:50]
7. Searched [2:59]
8. The Player [4:57]
9. Round 1 [5:40]
10. Placing Bets [3:16]
11. Round 2 [2:20]
12. Brothers [3:15]
13. Round 3 [5:30]
14. Choosing the Duelists [3:29]
15. Round 4 [9:19]
16. Escape [5:43]
17. Questioned [7:15]
18. Going Home [7:30]

Derek Armstrong

13 Tzameti has a chilling, electrifying central showpiece, but it lacks the plot mechanics to deliver an equivalent sense of dramatic tension. There's plenty of the regular kind of tension -- sometimes more than a viewer can handle -- but it's restricted to certain contained moments of wincing intensity. And because it's driven more by the situation than the characters, it's visceral and surface-level, rather than emotionally resonant. Writer-director G?la Babluani has made an impeccable homage to the French New Wave with his black-and-white thriller about a 13-person game of Russian roulette, gambled on by the rich, in which participants become involved somewhat unwittingly. The Georgian filmmaker uses his outsider perspective to bring a unique touch to the French-language film, making for a memorable experience that recalls classic New Wave films. 13 Tzameti is so rich with style and atmosphere, however, that the story ends up not quite living up to its potential. The viewer's surrogate (played by the director's younger brother) is a guy we don't know much about -- he's an opportunistic contractor who's about to be stiffed for services rendered, so he steals his employer's invitation to a game he knows nothing about. He doesn't have a goal other than to be compensated, and to get out alive. Babluani masterfully controls each moment of truth -- cutting away to the participants' faces, destroyed by anxiety, and to a bulb that illuminates when it's time to pull the trigger -- but by following one character at the expense of all others, he inevitably removes some uncertainty about each outcome. Fans probably won't care too deeply about any narrative shortcomings, since the French New Wave was not particularly a plot-driven movement, anyway. 13 Tzameti has the stylistic trademarks and the bleak world view to make it a shining modern example of that form. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Marc Sevestre  Actor 
Christophe Tanchaud  Actor 
Jérôme Wiggins  Actor 
François Rimbau  Actor 
Jean-Luc Solal  Actor 
François Tissot  Actor 
Bouges Stéphane Rouqet  Actor 
Grégory Songelin  Actor 
M. Triperet  Actor 
Yann Schmidt  Actor 
Vincent Stupart  Actor 
Paul Van Den Houten  Actor 
Hugo Pothirath  Actor 
Philippe Smail  Actor 
Marie Thomas  Actor 
Olivier Rabourdin  Actor 
Jacques-Maurice Rousseau  Actor 
Philippe Sorgel  Actor 
M. Visse  Actor 
Eric Sebaki  Actor 
Jean-Pierre Surmonne  Actor 
Philippe Villiers  Actor 
Laurence Roque  Actor 
Vasken Solakian  Actor 
M. Tipret  Actor 
Géla Babluani  Director 
Géla Babluani  Producer 
Géla Babluani  Screenwriter 
Georges Babluani  Actor 
Aurélien Recoing  Actor 
Philippe Passon  Actor 
Pascal Bongard  Actor 
Pascal Bougard  Actor 
Fred Ulysse  Actor 
Nicolas Pignon  Actor 
Vania Vilers  Actor 
Vania Vilers  Actor 
Christophe Vandevelde  Actor 
Augustin Legrand  Actor 
Jo Prestia  Actor 
Jean-François Godon  Actor 
Djalalli Amouche  Actor 
Melchior Aquino  Actor 
Nouredine Ameur  Actor 
Makharadze Avtandil  Actor 
Hervé Babadi  Actor 
Liana Babluani  Actor 
Likouna Babluani  Actor 
Temur Babluani  Actor 
Laurent Bariteau  Actor 
Robert Beaupre  Actor 
Philippe Beautier  Actor 
Allan Benkaci  Actor 
Claude Billois  Actor 
Gilles Bongibault  Actor 
Karim Bouguerra  Actor 
Jean Borodine  Actor 
Bernard Bouillon  Actor 
Cédric Bouvier  Actor 
Urbain Cancelier  Actor 
Matéo Capelli  Actor 
Alexandre Cardinalli  Actor 
M. Chapion  Actor 
Didier Champion  Actor 
Didier Constant  Actor 
Jean-Pierre Cormarie  Actor 
Simon Cohen  Actor 
Jean-Pierre Cottin  Actor 
Christelle Coulée  Actor 
Stéphane De Fraia  Actor 
Benoît De La Porte  Actor 
Bruno Daveze  Actor 
Gérard Desestre  Actor 
Jean-Michel Delaloche  Actor 
Cédric Deprez  Actor 
Benoît Deseze  Actor 
Abed Djerrar  Actor 
Louis Donval  Actor 
Jean-Paul Dostone  Actor 
Emmanuel Du Couldray  Actor 
Irène Joseph Edouard  Actor 
Fred Epaux  Actor 
Daniel Faure  Actor 
Serge Feuillard  Actor 
Cyprien Fiasse  Actor 
Laurent Ficher  Actor 
Eric Fouchet  Actor 
Marc-Antoine Frédéric  Actor 
Christian Gaïtch  Actor 
Olivier Galliano  Actor 
Jacques Gallo  Actor 
Patrice Garelli  Actor 
Roland Gervet  Actor 
Alain Girardot  Actor 
Philippe Gluck  Actor 
André Huet  Actor 
Mohamed Houssain Ali  Actor 
Franck Houis  Actor 
Mohammed Ikrou  Actor 
Daniel Isoppo  Actor 
Pascal Ivancic  Actor 
Franck Jean Elie  Actor 
Claude Johann  Actor 
Pierre Johann  Actor 
Amaud Kakpeyen  Actor 
Samba Kante  Actor 
Philippe Kieffer  Actor 
Jacques Lafolye  Actor 
Nadir Lalouni  Actor 
Daniel Lefort  Actor 
François Legrand  Actor 
Jean-Baptiste Legrand  Actor 
Jean-Paul Lopez  Actor 
Christelle Louessard  Actor 
Joseph Malerba  Actor 
Gaston Marcantoni  Actor 
M. Marel  Actor 
Jacqueline Martin  Actor 
Bruno Mary  Actor 
Mohammed Mazari  Actor 
Patrick Michaëlis  Actor 
Christian Nedjel  Actor 
Didier Nobletz  Actor 
Pascal Oumaklouf  Actor 
Raphael Palma  Actor 
Jérôme Paquette  Actor 
Franck Pejoux  Actor 
Jacques Petit  Actor 
Patrick Pierron  Actor 
Jean-Pierre Pivolot  Actor 

Country: France