''Robinsonada or My English Grandfather'' ( ka, რობინზონიადა ანუ ჩემი ინგლისელი პაპა, robinzoniada anu chemi ingliseli papa; russian: Робинзонада, или Мой английский дедушка, Robinzonada ili moy angliskiy dedushka; also known as ''Robinson Crusoe in Georgia'') is a 1987

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Nana Djordjadze Nana Jorjadze ( ka, ნანა ჯორჯაძე; born 24 August 1948) is an Academy Award nominated film director, scriptwriter and actress. Jorjadze was born in Tbilisi, and graduated first from a local musical school (1966), and then from ...

. It was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the

1987 Cannes Film Festival The 40th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 19 May 1987 in film, 1987. The Palme d'Or went to the ''Under the Sun of Satan (film), Sous le soleil de Satan'' by Maurice Pialat, a choice which was considered "highly controversial" and the prize ...

, where it won the

Caméra d'Or The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes' selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or International Critics' Week The International ...

Plot

The main story of the film is framed as the reminiscences of an aged Georgian woman recalling her love affair, many years earlier, with an English telegraph worker. Shortly before the Soviet take-over of Georgia in 1921, Christopher Hughes is sent to rural Georgia to work on a telegraph line between the UK and India, which runs through Georgian territory. (This plot element is based on the true story of the

Indo-European Telegraph Siemens Communications was the communications and information business arm of German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG, until 2006. It was the largest division of Siemens, and had two business units – Mobile Networks and Fixed Networks; and En ...

Line, built by Siemens in 1868-1870, and operational until 1931). After the Red Army invades Georgia, the British employees are recalled, but the message ordering him to leave Georgia never reaches Hughes, who has fallen in love with Ana, a young Georgian woman living in a nearby village. Ana’s brother Nestor, however, is a local Bolshevik leader. There ensues a tense situation in which Hughes is caught between his love for Ana and his hostility toward her brother. Eventually, Hughes and Nestor are reconciled, but in the end both fall victim to a vengeful nobleman who has been dispossessed of his wealth by the new regime. ''My English Grandfather'' is Nana Jorjadze's first major film, based on a screenplay by her husband

Irakli Kvirikadze Irakli, Irakly ( ka, ირაკლი), or Erekle ( ka, ერეკლე) is a Georgian version of the Greek name Heracles, and is a popular masculine name in Georgia. Notable people with these names include: Erekle *Erekle I, Prince of Mukhra ...

. The theme of the foreigner stranded in Soviet Georgia, who has a love affair with a local woman, resurfaces in Jorjadze's best-known film ''

A Chef in Love ''A Chef in Love'', (Georgian: შეყვარებული კულინარის 1001 რეცეპტი / ''Shekvarebuli kulinaris ataserti retsepti'', literally, "1001 recipes of a chef in love") is a 1996 Georgian film directed by ...

''. Other noteworthy features of the film include the music, composed by Enri Lolashvili, the brother of the actor Janri Lolashvili (who plays the role of Hughes in the film), and the use of foreigners (mostly students residing in Tbilisi at the time) to voice-over the bits of English dialogue that appear in the film. One of them supplied Hughes’ voice throughout the film, including those scenes where he speaks Georgian.

Cast

* Janri Lolashvili * Nineli Chankvetadze * Guram Pirtskhalava * Elgudzha Burduli *

Rusudan Bolkvadze Rusudan Bolkvadze (born November 6, 1959) is a Georgian actress. She graduated from 55th State School in Tbilisi and went to Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film State University of Georgia. In 1980 she enrolled at the Studio led by the Georgian di ...

* Tiko Eliosidze * Daredjan Kharshiladze * Shalva Kherkheulidze * Gia Lejava * Yuri Kirs

References

External links

* 1987 films 1987 comedy films Films directed by Nana Jorjadze Films set in Georgia (country) Georgian-language films Soviet-era films from Georgia (country) Soviet comedy films Caméra d'Or winners Comedy films from Georgia (country) {{1980s-comedy-film-stub