Amagleba (Living Legends)

Living Legends, (the original Georgian title might be translated as 'uprising') is a 1977 production just off the shelf. It combines helmer Nodar Managadze 's notable talent with bis homeland 's natural beauty. Result is a small film of stirring pictorial beauty with a great-hearted theme : Georgian nationalism. This brief film takes some patience to get into, but pays off in a rousing climax that brings all the ends together.
Film is dedicated 'to the unknown heroes who died for their country', and a sense of fatality pervades the quiet first half, tracing the simple lives of four men. Stonecutter Nadzika works humbly on carvings for a tiny church under construction in the mountains, aided by his angelic ox. The monk Beka paints pictures on bis monastery 's walls, field hand Ivane struggles to keep his brood of kids fed, a young nobleman thinks of his future bride. All are called to war to defend their homeland and give their lives unselfishly. (Yung. in Variety, 18.5.1988).