In Bloom

The debut film from Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß presents a powerful story of two girls challenging outdated male expectations while living in a country dominated by testosterone-fueled aggression, early marriages, and disillusioned love. In Tbilisi, shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, 14-year-old best friends Eka and Natia are unfazed by the fear and insecurity lurking around them. As civil war rages in the rest of the country, the girls are preoccupied with school gossip, learning how to smoke cigarettes, and flirting with the neighborhood boys. When one of them receives a pistol as a gesture of love, the girls soon face circumstances beyond their control. Loosely based on Ekvtimishvili’s childhood memories and featuring radiant, breakout performances by the two leads, In Bloom portrays distinctively fierce female characters rebelling against tradition in order to blossom within their crumbling city. (102 mins., DCP)