Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

classicsoncall I've always been of the opinion that if you took any number of children at birth of diverse nationalities, ethnicities and religions, and allowed them to grow up together without any preconceived biases, they would grow up respectful and tolerant of each other, and more importantly, attain a friendship among themselves. I think that's what's at the heart of "Tangerines" once you strip away such connotations as 'Chechen', 'Georgian', 'Abkhazian' and 'Russian'. Because after all is said and done, people are just people, and have no reason to hate each other at face value. It's only when one's particular background is revealed that someone of a differing circumstance begins to exhibit prejudice and bias. The film, and the actions of Ivo (Lembit Ulfsak), Margus (Elmo Nüganen) and doctor Juhan (Raivo Trass), in overlooking the enmity between Chechen Ahmed (Giorgi Nakashidze) and Georgian Nika (Misha Meskhi), help the two enemies see each other as humans on the opposite side of a struggle for which there will ultimately be no winners or losers when it comes to the finality of death. Particularly poignant is the final scene, in which we learn the reason why Ivo will not return to Estonia, while offering his assurance to Ahmed that he would just as soon have buried him next to his own son in the same manner as Nika (only a little further away, to add an element of ironic humor to the story). I thought this was a thoughtful and provocative film with a discernible message of tolerance in a hate filled world, though at the same time, I have no illusions that a message as simple as the one delivered here, would have any impact on the those whose ideologies take precedence over humanity.

leonidas03031979 Few are the times that I have so clearly and strongly felt what the writer wants to say while watching a film. True and crystal explanation of what a war is and how complete strangers who have nothing against each other will find themselves as enemies in a battlefield and try to kill each other just because this is what their leaders ordered them to do. Every person with a common sense will understand this after watching this film. For those who can't get the message here there's truly no hope of salvation. Such stories should be taught at schools in order to make this world a better place. Fanaticism and blind odium, wherever they come from, is the real problem. This is what the film is talking about and it's doing it spotlessly.

Rare Movie Critic I considered using a summary of "One of the best war films of all time" but this is beyond that. I usually only review under-reviewed (ones with less than 15 reviews) but for this I'll make an exception. I wouldn't say that this film is underrated, it is rated 8.3/10, although I'd give it 9.5/10, this film is still an unknown gem. 60% of voters on IMDb gave it 9 or 10. It is only a matter of time until it enters the IMDb top 250.This film reminds me a lot of No Man's Land, but this one lacks that absurdist Balkan element. Balkan films have strong threads of absurdism, comedy and tragedy coming together, but this film doesn't have that. It's a darker, more somber piece. This film is not a moralizing sermon that's against war. It is not a contrived Lifetime/Oxygen movie that plays like a public service announcement or some educational film shown in schools.It's a real film, cinematic and subtle. It has the perfect balance of dialogue, action/events, space/pacing and music. It is not an action film with a moral message between battles. It is not a sermon interrupted with events. It is not a music video showing the beauty of the country. It is a film, it is what cinema everywhere should be.This film is also not tragic porn. A lot of films just add tragedy after tragedy to pull at our heartstrings. It doesn't use sad music to manipulate you, doesn't have this pile-on of tragedies to make things sad. No orphanage for mentally handicapped cancer kids getting hit with artillery strikes.It's a simple, yet very powerful story. It is a snapshot of time. People criticize films like this for not being encyclopedias of a conflict. They want all sides of the story to be represented and given equal time and weight. "Why didn't they This is pointless. This film is not an encyclopedia of all sides, it's just a single chapter in the life of a man, or three men, when all their lives intersected.Perhaps the target audience for this film is limited. Not many people know where Estonia is, forget them knowing of Abkhazia and what all these things mean. I see that the highest rated bad review talks about "cardboard villain characters of Russian soldiers", even though there are no Russian characters in this film. I highly recommend this film. Watch it with someone who knows a bit about the Caucasus if possible or brush up a bit on the history of that conflict post USSR. You don't need a history degree to understand it. It's a clear cut conflict, it's just that for many, it's an unknown conflict from an unknown part of the world. No rounding up. This is 10/10.

Fenrir_Sleeps Although I understand why "Tangerines" is a public favorite, I can't really get aboard the hype train regarding this Estonian-Georgian production.Whichever good intentions had the director Zaza Urushadze on producing this anti-war statement, they were lost within a very timid plot, which lacks the confidence to set itself free from all the conventions of this kind of story.I found "Tangerines"'s plot utterly clichéd, predictable, emotionally manipulative, and its characters were carved paper thin. I don't demand intricate stories to tell such simple, yet important lessons like the futility of war, but there's a difference between simplicity and predictability.The great interpretations from the cast (especially from Lembit Ulfsak (Ivo) and Giorgi Nakashidze (Ahmed)) and the compelling visuals of "Tangerines" can't save the film from its thin argument, and even though I don't doubt Urushadze's integrity to tell a story that touches such sensible topics from Estonia's recent History, he can't turn it more compelling than any given Hollywood war movie.