REEES Film Series: Blue Mountains, or Unbelievable Story (dir. Eldar Shengelaia, 1983)

An idealistic young author brings his latest manuscript, titled Blue Mountains, to a Soviet Georgian publishing house. Over the course of months, he visits the office daily, trying to find a single person who will actually read it. Instead, he enters a world of complete institutional paralysis: one employee spends all day playing chess, another downloads recipes, directors hold endless meaningless meetings, and the building itself is crumbling around them because no one will take responsibility for repairs.

A dry, minimalist framing and repeating comedic motifs highlight the absurdity of a system that has lost all purpose. The film’s quiet, deadpan tone amplifies the surreal nature of the environment, where total inactivity is treated as a exhausting, full-time job.

A brilliant showcase of Georgian cinematic wit, Blue Mountains, or Unbelievable Story is a devastatingly funny eulogy for late Soviet institutional stagnation, released right on the eve of Perestroika.

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