The World of Movies: My Happy Family
Written by Rachael Crawley
The World of Movies is a series that explores global cinema, drawing on films from many countries, industries and eras. This week, we go our own way in Georgia.
My Happy Family.
May contain spoilers.
Sometimes, a person will do anything for some peace. Even this simple thing eludes Manana (Ia Sugliashvili), who lives with her interfering parents, checked-out husband, and immature grown children. Small wonder, then, that she seeks a space of her own – much to the consternation of all around her.
The above description could perhaps be taken as funny, but this story is quite serious. My Happy Family (Nana Ekvitmishvili/Simon Groß, 2017) presents us with a protagonist who is driven to her limit. A teacher and mother of two, she is tasked with running a busy multigenerational household (considered traditional in Georgia). Far more draining is the emotional labour of handling their constant conflicts. While she loves her family, she is rarely listened to or appreciated.
From here, her story expands to a larger scale, while never leaving Manana herself. The movie goes out of its way to demonstrate how much she is sidelined – in social situations, she and the other women are often isolated, both visually and within the story. A television program exhorts a woman’s place in the home. Other girls and women speak of being overlooked or taken advantage of (indeed, the movie is peppered with such stories). When with her family, Manana is surrounded all the time by aggressive conversation, always demanding more from her. These scenes are crammed with noise and chaos. It is uncomfortable to watch, let alone to live in. By the time Manana strikes out on her own, roughly half an hour into the movie, we thoroughly understand why.
My Happy Family.
The film’s use of space, as with Heaven Without People, does a lot with very limited parameters. Aside from the occasional scene in town, the movie predominantly takes place within the home. The two apartments are their own presence in the film, one cluttered and oppressively crowded, the other near-empty and serene, complete with ocean blue walls. Rather than travelling between family members, though, the camera is almost constantly focused on Manana, giving the viewer a focal point. Some of my favourite shots were of Manana alone in her apartment, silent, simply enjoying her new world.
So much of this movie depends on Sugliashvili, and she is perfect. In the early scenes, whenever she is alone, you can see the light disappear from her eyes. As Manana begins her new life, she seems much lighter in spirit, but there is always another problem encroaching, something Sugliashvili can convey without saying a word. If nothing else, this film is worth seeing for her performance. For much of the movie, the other characters are not particularly in focus, but Merab Ninidze is excellent as her estranged husband in the last few scenes, and Mariam Bokeria manages to add some lighter moments in a brief appearance.
While My Happy Family isn’t particularly subtle in its commentary, it is reflective in a way that keeps it from being overly didactic. Its beautifully contrasting tones add nuance to Manana’s story. The strongest point, however, is the work of Ia Sugliashvili, who gives us a character that is fully realized - at once quite ordinary and utterly memorable.
Rachael Crawley holds a Master's Degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, and has worked with film in Canada and in Europe. She adores language and cinema, and how these subjects interact with each other.