The name Gela Babluani probably won't ring any bells, but it might be wise to jot it down somewhere. The Georgian-French Babluani has become an enfant terrible in Europe, where his debut feature, 13 Tzameti, has won numerous awards and posted serious box-office numbers. Starting out as a sensitively played drama about a young immigrant construction worker (played by Georges Babluani, the director's younger brother), the film takes a seriously twisted turn into violent suspense after our hero takes the place of his dead French boss in a strange, clandestine betting game.

   
But don't ascribe Babluani's success to clever and well-placed twists: Throughout 13 Tzameti, the director's elegant black-and-white widescreen framing evokes the aestheticized existentialism of '60s European cinema. No wonder he cites Fellini and Visconti among his favorite directors, although he also admits to having a serious jones for American cinema. Of course, there's a good precedent for the young director's film literacy; his father, Temur Babluani, is a well-known Georgian filmmaker, and recently co-directed Gela's second film, a French-Georgian coproduction called L'Heritage. 13 Tzameti, which opens this week, may well replicate its international success stateside. It won a Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival, where it played in the International Competition. Either way, Babluani is already at work on an American remake, and is furiously learning English to make the transition. Nerve caught up with him in New York. — Bilge Ebiri

13 Tzameti has an interesting structure. It starts off in an almost neorealistic fashion, and then about halfway through it turns into a suspense thriller.

I love twists, and I like the idea of changing a story like that — turning things upside down. It's actually something I see as realistic. In real life, when something strange happens, we're never waiting for it. We have normal life before it happens. And then something changes — that transition can sometimes wipe out what came before.

How do you convey that on film, though?

Of course, in the first part of 13 Tzameti, we have some details, so we suppose that something will happen. The change itself is what interests me. How this character can go from this wandering, normal lifestyle and then wind up in this crazy place. It doesn't bother me to have these transitions from one genre to another. I feel the same way about characters. For example, I love to go on trains. I'm a big daydreamer, and I like being around all these strangers. I like to sit there and think of these destinies crossing. Before they come into contact with each other, they have pretty ordinary lives. You'll notice that I have a lot of train scenes in my movies.

You also have a lot of your family in your movies. Was it difficult directing your own brother?

I put my family in my movies every time. I cast Georges not just because he's my brother but also because he's such a good actor. It was his first experience — his first movie — but all good actors, even if they've been taught a lot of things, have something personal, something inside them that makes them a great actor. And Georges definitely has something very unique to himself, which of course I know perfectly, because I'm his brother. He's very sweet, but he also has a violent side. I think knowing him so well really helped me to work with him. He understands everything I say, and I understand everything he says.

How did you get this film made? You're a new director, you've cast your brother in the lead, and he's never done anything before. And you're shooting in black and white.

I had almost no money when I started the film. I had made some money from industrial films I had made. I started with something like $60,000. But I was really lucky. When I wrote the screenplay, I showed it to financiers, and they all said, "Forget it." Nobody wanted to make the movie. I think that if you cut the last five minutes out of every American movie, they'd be great.Then I showed it to actors, and they loved it. And I showed it to crew and people who rent out equipment, and I said, "I don't have any money. I have the screenplay and I want to shoot it in black and white." Two of them called me and gave me everything for free for six months. I had a camera and technology that isn't even available to films with much bigger budgets: A Technocrane, a Steadicam, very expensive lenses that are used primarily in advertising. It was amazing. These people really believed in my project — I only wanted one month, and their letting me shoot for six months was unbelievable.



I hear you're working on an American remake of 13 Tzameti.

Yes. I just started working together with a writer on the adaptation of the film. My English isn't very good, and I've been taking language classes for a couple of months, but I still need another writer to do it. But we just started, so there isn't too much to say right now.


You also have a new film that will come out in France later this year, called L'Heritage, starring Sylvie Testud.

Yes, that one is a very special story. It was my father's screenplay. We directed it together last year, in Georgia. It was a state-produced film, a Georgian and French story, about two cultures coming to an impasse — about traditions and sacrifices. It's a very big and very personal story for me, and I was really glad to have done it.

What has your small taste of American filmmaking been like so far?

I'm really impressed by the professionalism and the hard work. I love American movies. I think that if you cut the last five minutes out of every American movie, they'd be great. I love American directors, too. In Europe, we used to have great directors. We still have some today, too, but the US has a lot. As far as the technical aspects of filmmaking go, I think it's the same in Europe. The difference here is that you have more money, but it all depends on how well you're going to use it. You can spend a lot of money and make crap, and you can spend very little money and make something good.

13 Tzameti feels like a film made by someone who really knows his movies. Who are the directors you admire?

There's a lot. Sometimes I forget to mention one, and then I feel bad. Akira Kurosawa is the first one that leaps to mind. Federico Fellini I love, too. But when I think about Kurosawa and Fellini, I think primarily about their black and white films. When I think of Satyajit Ray, I think of his black and white movies. Even when I think about Martin Scorsese, I think of Raging Bull. Or Visconti with Rocco and His Brothers. Jean Renoir. So you can see how my mind works. I like color movies, too. I love The Godfather. Not Parts 2 and 3, though.

Really? You don't like The Godfather Part 2?

It's not bad. But I think the strongest parts of 2 are with De Niro playing Brando when he was young. It's a great part. But Al Pacino's development isn't as interesting to me. And in the first one, the dramatical construction is perfect — I mean, really, really perfect. Even to this day, I watch it and try to find mistakes in it. They're not there. That's not to say I don't like flawed films. I love Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America, for example, but it still has small mistakes in construction.


Do you think you'll continue making your films in the US from now on, or do you expect to go back and forth?

I don't think I'll make films only in any one country. I've been very lucky. I've made movies in France. I made a movie in Georgia. The money's not important. I can make a movie here for $25 million or go to Georgia and make a movie for $600,000. Now I get to do my movie here. At the same time, I'm writing another film that I want to shoot here in New York, after we get done with the adaptation of 13. I love New York. But I also dream of going back to Georgia and making a movie about recent Georgian history, which was a very chaotic period. At the same time, I try to find stories that will be clear for everyone — even if the story is specific to one part of the world. I don't want to make movies where, for example, you have to be French to understand what the movie is about.