Brighton 4th

A gorgeously cinematic familial tragicomedy that constantly and movingly challenges expectations.

As a film of family and community, “Brighton 4th” brims with heart.

A tragicomedy that sneaks up on you stealthily before flooring you with an emotional sucker punch in the final reel.

The film unfolds at a pace that is unhurried yet self-assured, submerged in the rhythms that govern its characters' lives.

The melancholy-infused narrative neatly balances rueful humor with genuine sweetness.

Every frame is evocatively shot (Phedon Papamichael), perfectly edited (Sasha Frumin, Davit Kiknadze, Elene Asatiani) and directed by Levan Koguashvili.

Koguashvili prefers an intermittent caustic humor, connecting us with his sensitive character as he finds enough cultural specificity to keep the story afloat.

Though Levan Tediashvili is hardly an expressive actor, his minimalist performance proves more affecting than that of a calculated approach. Kakhi looks as if nothing could rattle him, but he learns the hard way that stoicism has its limits.

Many of the actors in Brighton 4th, including the lead, are nonprofessionals... Coupled with the use of real locations and unfussy cinematography by Phedon Papamichael, the result is something that frequently feels like documentary rather than fiction.

The cumulative effect is insightful and poignant—largely thanks to Tedaishvili, who as a man of few words nonetheless communicates a lifetime of weary, dutiful burden-shouldering.