In Bloom

Set in 1992 in Tbilisi, capital of a newly independent Georgia that was long part of the Soviet Union, this coming-of-age drama takes place amidst an atmosphere of confusion, anger, and violence that threatens potential explosiveness everywhere: in homes, on breadlines, and within a classroom. Armed vigilantes roam the streets doing whatever they want. Sectarian conflict is burbling up. A distant battle on the Black Sea with neighboring Abkhazia is going badly for Georgia. Yet co-directors Nana Ekvtimishvili (a Georgian for whom this story has autobiographical elements) and Simon Gross concentrate on the ripple effects of the national tension throughout everyday life in Tbilisi, particularly for 14-year-old best friends Eka (Lika Babluani) and Natia (Mariam Bokeria), who endure adult angst and cruelty as best they can, and find comfort in each other's company—although both they and we know that they will eventually grow up to be as desperate and/or vitriolic as the grownups in their lives. But for now the pair are learning to fight back against their fate with rebelliousness, and (in a terrific scene) a bold assertion of Eka's flowering spirit through a spontaneous folk dance. An understated film that benefits from the natural lead performances by non-actors, this is recommended. (T. Keogh)