Japan Premiere

One morning, a 48-year-old shopkeeper named Etero is out foraging wild blackberries near her small Georgian village when the sighting of a blackbird causes her to slip and fall down a ravine. This near-death experience shakes her out of her routine and she contemplates her life. Until now, she had been happy with being independent but also made to be painfully aware by her married neighbours that she has reached middle age and is still alone. Thus, she decides to jump the bones of Murman, a married deliveryman bringing an order in from a nearby town. As her affair with Murman goes on, Etero must decide where to take it.
Described as romantic, humorous, and dramatic, the film, adapted from a 2020 novel by feminist author Tamta Melashvili, has charmed festival goers from its Cannes 2023 premiere to London and the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival with its subtle look at gender conventions via a story of a middle-aged woman with a strong inner-life seizing her romantic future. [Jason MAHER]