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A spare, humane anti-war drama that uses a small, intimate setup to make a larger point about conflict, dignity, and the absurdity of ethnic hatred. Its strength is restraint: instead of battlefield spectacle, it finds tension in conversation, obligation, and the fragile possibility of empathy.
Where to watch: Buy
Thu · 1h 27m
Director: Zaza Urushadze
Starring: Lembit Ulfsak, Giorgi Nakashidze, Elmo Nüganen
War in Abkhazia, 1992. An Estonian man Ivo has stayed behind to harvest his crops of tangerines. In a bloody conflict at his door, a wounded man is left behind, and Ivo is forced to take him in.
Zaza Urushadze
Lembit Ulfsak, Giorgi Nakashidze, Elmo Nüganen
A spare, humane anti-war drama that uses a small, intimate setup to make a larger point about conflict, dignity, and the absurdity of ethnic hatred. Its strength is restraint: instead of battlefield spectacle, it finds tension in conversation, obligation, and the fragile possibility of empathy.
Tangerines is a compact war film with a clear moral center, but it earns its emotion through simplicity rather than speeches. Set in a rural pocket of Abkhazia, it turns a single house into a temporary ceasefire zone, where wounded enemies are forced into uneasy proximity and basic decency becomes an act of resistance.
The film’s power comes from its quietness: the rhythms of daily labor, the stubbornness of old age, and the way ordinary hospitality can cut against the logic of war. It is not interested in tactical complexity or political nuance so much as the human cost of dehumanization, which gives it a gentle but firm anti-war force.
Some viewers may find its message blunt or its allegory a little tidy, especially given the brutality of the real conflict behind it. Even so, the film’s modest scale, strong performances, and unshowy craft make it memorable. It’s a moving example of how a small story can carry a heavy historical weight.
Joshua Dysart (2.5★) · 206 likes
Let me ask those of you who’ve seen this a question. Are you aware that Abkhaz separatist committed ethnic cleansing, killing between 4,000 and 15,000 Georgians? And that during the whole conflict 10,000 to 30,000 Georgian civilians were killed? Now. Knowing that, how does this morally simplistic fable about two enemies finding common ground sit with you? It suddenly all seems a little softly peddled, doesn’t it? A little reductionist? Maybe it seems like the real issues at hand, which… more
Michael James (4★) · 156 likes
A simple, aesthetic yet powerful human drama that shows how humanity and compassion can rise above conflicts and war. Through meaningful dialogues, it reflects on the futility of war with a clear anti-war stance. Lembit Ulfsak delivers a strong wholesome central performance, neatly supported by the rest. A quietly heartwarming watch.
Esteban Gonzalez (4★) · 153 likes
“What is wrong with you, young men? All the time, I will kill, I will kill... Who gave you the right for that?" I wasn’t familiar with Estonian cinema before Mandariinid (Tangerines), but I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for Zaza Urushadze’s upcoming projects because this was a fulfilling experience. I know the Academy doesn’t always get it right, but at least it gives me a chance to check out films that I wouldn’t have heard of otherwise.… more
sinn Mayfield (4★) · 120 likes
War makes people forget that the “enemy” is also human.
yağmur🌞 (4★) · 106 likes
sonunda bi miktar içim burkulmuş olabilir... "Ahmed, fark eder mi?"
A darkly humane war satire that, like Tangerines, traps enemies together and lets absurdity expose the futility of conflict.
A severe, morally charged wartime drama that examines sacrifice, conscience, and the spiritual cost of occupation.
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One of cinema’s most devastating anti-war statements, useful if you want the opposite emotional register but the same moral urgency.
A politically engaged conflict drama about brothers, ideology, and the way violence corrodes community from within.
A contained conflict story about men under pressure, with a focus on endurance and the absurdity of geopolitical violence.
For viewers drawn to war films that emphasize tension, psychology, and the destabilizing effect of conflict on everyday behavior.
A war film built around empathy for the supposed enemy, with a similarly reflective and sorrowful tone.
Shares Tangerines’ concern with conscience, refusal, and the quiet moral cost of standing apart from violence.
A spare survival drama with strong atmosphere and a similarly intimate view of conflict on the margins.
A landmark political war film that pairs historical specificity with a hard look at occupation and resistance.
anti-war, humanity, compassion, ethnic conflict, moral responsibility, forgiveness, rural life, survival
anti-war drama, humanistic, post-Soviet, ethnic conflict, quiet intensity, moral fable, rural setting, minimalist, historical drama