''Eliso'' is a 1928 Soviet silent

adventure film The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...

directed by

Nikoloz Shengelaia Nikoloz Shengelaia ( ka, ნიკოლოზ შენგელაია, ; Obudzhi, Tsalenjikha District – Tbilisi, 4 January 1943) was a Soviet Georgian film director. Nikoloz Shengelaia was one of the founders of Georgian cinema. His ep ...

and loosely based on the short story by

Alexander Kazbegi Alexander Kazbegi ( ka, ალექსანდრე ყაზბეგი, ) (1848–1893) was a Georgian writer, famous for his 1883 novel '' The Patricide''. Early life Kazbegi was born in Stepantsminda the great grandson of Kazibek C ...

. It was made in the

Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

. It was released in the United States in 1929 by

Amkino Nicola Napoli, was the President of Artkino Pictures, Inc., the primary distributor of Soviet films in the United States, Canada, Central America and South America from 1940 to 1982. Napoli was a double agent Soviet Spy for the United States. In 19 ...

under the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the ...

of ''Caucasian Love''.

Plot

The film is set in the 19th century. To consolidate its power in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

region, the Russian government intends to evict the

Chechens The Chechens ( ; , , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kistin, Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian languages, Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus. ...

from the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. A

cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

Ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; ; ) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military commanders of the Cossack armies. The Ukra ...

fraudulently obtains signatures from illiterate residents for a petition which calls for resettlement to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, by disguising it as a request for permission to stay on their land to the governor-general of Muslims of the Verdi mountain

aul An aul; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (; ) is a type of fortified village or town found throughout the Caucasus and Central Asia. They are generally built out of stone, on faces of ridges or against cliffs in order to provide protection against su ...

. The daughter of the village elders, Eliso falls in love with

Khevsurian Khevsurians ( ka, ხევსურები) are an ethnographic group of Georgians, mainly living in Khevsureti, on both sides of the Caucasus Mountain Chain in the watersheds of the rivers Aragvi and Argun. There are some villages in Khevi, ...

Vajia, who is a Christian. He is seeking the abolition of the decree to expel Chechens, but his heroic efforts to save the village are futile. Residents have already been banished from their homes and leave the village. Vajia as a

kafir ''Kāfir'' (; , , or ; ; or ) is an Arabic-language term used by Muslims to refer to a non-Muslim, more specifically referring to someone who disbelieves in the Islamic God, denies his authority, and rejects the message of Islam as ...

has no right to leave with them out of their homes. Eliso can not accept the fate of an outlaw, she sneaks at night into the village, which is already inhabited by the Cossacks, and sets fire to it.

Cast

* Aleksandre Imedashvili as Astamur * Kokhta Karalashvili as Vajia * Kira Andronikashvili as Eliso * I. Mamporya as Seidulla * Tsetsilia Tsutsunava as Zazubika * Aleksandre Jorjoliani as General * K. Gurianov as Billeting officer * I. Galkin as Village constable * Marika Chimishkian as Muslimati

Reception

Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein; (11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, film editor and film theorist. Considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, he was a pioneer in the theory and practice of montage. He is no ...

expressed to

Ivor Montagu Ivor Goldsmid Samuel Montagu (23 April 1904, in Kensington, London – 5 November 1984, in Watford) was an English filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, film critic, writer, table tennis player, and Communist activist and spy in the 1930s. He help ...

that there were only two good portrayals of the

lezginka The Lezginka () is a folk dance of the Lezgin people, common throughout the North Caucasus. It uses a fast rhythm, and can be either a solo male or a pair dance. According to ''Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, g ...

in film, and that Shengelaya's in Eliso was better than in '' October: Ten Days That Shook the World'', the film he directed.

References

Bibliography

* Christie, Ian & Taylor, Richard. ''The Film Factory: Russian and Soviet Cinema in Documents 1896-1939''. Routledge, 2012.

External links

* 1928 films 1928 drama films 1920s adventure drama films 1920s war drama films 1920s Soviet films Georgian-language films 1920s Russian-language films Russian-language adventure drama films Russian-language romantic drama films Russian-language war drama films Soviet black-and-white films Soviet silent feature films Soviet adventure drama films Soviet romantic drama films War romance films Soviet war drama films Soviet-era films from Georgia (country) Silent films from Georgia (country) Black-and-white films from Georgia (country) Adventure drama films from Georgia (country) Silent adventure drama films {{1920s-USSR-film-stub