George Ovashvili's Corn Island is a minimalist study of life that uses a small, simple story to speak to the greatest aspects of nature. Exploring the rhythm of nature and its relationship with mankind, Corn Island is a poetically realized vision that speaks to the cycle of life with destruction turning into creation. The story is set on the Inguri River, which forms a natural border dividing Georgia from Abkhazia. Every spring, the river naturally creates tiny islands in the middle of the river, extremely fertile land that many local inhabitants use to cultivate crops. An old Abkhaz farmer and his teenage daughter begin to cultivate crops one one of these islands, building a hut for shelter, with the rest of the island covered in corn crop. Having very little dialogue, Corn Island is a film that feels like a battle of intrigue, but as it progresses, it becomes clear that this film is a powerful allegory for the sands of time. Tensions between the two countries on each side of the river have not abated, and Corn Island creates a great sense of dread to this fable-like tale, as the conflict between the two militaries slowly infects the lives of this old man and his granddaughter. At first it is merely patrols of troops from both sides, armed to teeth, heading up and down the river. It increases with gun shots that ring off in the distance, eventually seeing the two protagonists drawn into the conflict when a wounded soldier washes up onto their small island. Corn Island juxtaposes the grandaughters descent into adulthood with the growing of the cornfields, another example of Corn Island's poetic nature of exploring the relationship between humanity and nature. With Corn Island, George Ovashvili has delivered a poeitc, minimalistic tale about the cycle of life, with nature being a force that both creates and destroys.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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