Old Georgian Hymns (1970)

The Radar read

A quieter title still finding its audience, though the rating rests on a thin sample, so treat it as provisional.

Synopsis

Working with the Georgian polyphonic ensemble Rustavi and composer Anzor Erkomaishvili to resurrect the countryside’s derelict monasteries, Chkhaidze films eroded structures and faded biblical paintings caressed by sunlight, evoking the ambivalence of a besieged culture despite Georgia’s extant link to antiquity. Building on themes from his earlier work, Kolkhida—where Chkhaidze assigns the famed national myth of Jason’s quest to find the Golden Fleece in Colchis a negligible value in proportion to the land’s permanence—Chkhaidze here examines and historicizes Georgia’s identity as one of the earliest adopters of Christianity.

Synopsis and metadata sourced from The Movie Database (TMDB).

Radar blends quality, momentum and freshness into one “what to watch now” number — so a great older film can sit lower than a rising new release. The Quality signal above is the time-neutral rating, which is why an acclaimed classic keeps a high quality score even when its Radar number is lower. Radar outputs are editorial algorithmic recommendations, not objective facts, and may change as signals update. A Radar score is not the same as a TMDB, IMDb or critic rating. How scoring works (v3.0).