Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Matho The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

FilmCriticLalitRao Since Otar has left is a humanist tale directed by Julie Bertucelli who in the past worked as assistant to great Georgian master of cinema Otar Iosseliani.This film can be likened to Samuel Beckett's famous play "Waiting for Godot" as in both these works of art the important focal element is that of patience.For those who are into serious cinema mention must be made of Hungarian classic film "Szerelem" directed by Makk Karoly.Both these films have a lot of common elements namely protagonists who are not near their families as well as brave women who carry on with their own personal lives in the absence of a male member in their life.Some astute viewers might like to know about Georgia-France connection as depicted in the film.This comes from the fact that one of the film's characters is interested in French language and literature and for that purpose at her home,she has a very good collection of classics of French literature.The only defect of this film is its innocuous end which might appear as too deceitfully agreeable to some astute viewers.

Howard Schumann A French-Belgian co-production, spoken in a blend of Georgian, Russian and French, first-time director Julie Bertucelli's Since Otar Left centers on the lives of three generations of women. An elderly grandmother Eka (Esther Gorintin) lives with her daughter Marina (Nino Khomassouridze) and young granddaughter Ada (Dinara Droukarova) in Tblisi in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Conditions are hard in Tblisi and Marina has been forced to sell wares at the local market in spite of her engineering degree. Nothing seems to work properly, the power goes out, phone calls are cut off and Eka longs to recapture life as it was under Joseph Stalin.Things have not been the same since Eka's beloved son Otar, a doctor, left for France two years ago. Unable to practice medicine legally, Otar (whom we never meet) has had to accept construction work and Eka's life revolves around his periodic letters and phone calls. Thirty minutes into the film we learn some distressing news about Otar. Marina and Ada, fearful of how it will affect Eka, withhold the information, pursuing an elaborate scheme of deception. They forge his letters and make up excuses why he has not called. Everything works well for a time but things begin to unravel when Eka, having not spoken to Otar in seven months, sells her esteemed collection of French literature to raise money to travel to Paris in an attempt to find Otar. When Marina and Ada decide to go with Eka, an adventure awaits them as the film veers off in an unexpected direction.The performances of the three women are remarkable and Ms. Gorintin does an admirable job of conveying a stoop-shouldered, sentimental old woman, yet her character is a doddering stereotype, too typical of the way old people are portrayed in films. A film about generational conflicts and the problems of the elderly is welcome but Ms. Bertucelli does not explore these issues in any depth and the plot implausibilities are numerous. Marina forges Otar's letters but Eka never checks the postmark. Otar fails to telephone for seven months, yet Eka only has a "hint" that something might be wrong. The family allows Eka to sell her prized possession without trying to ascertain the purpose of her actions, and there are many others. Since Otar Left won the Critics Week Grand Prize at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival and the Cesar Award for Best First Work but I found it contrived and unconvincing, content with ersatz warmth, "colorful" ethnic characters, and overly literate dialogue that does not ring true.

stensson The plot is about the Georgian son, working without working permission in Paris and therefore a victim of non existing security as a construction worker. His family, mother sister and niece, are still in Tblisi and they get letters. His old mother lives for that.One day the son dies in an accident and his sister and niece don't know how to tell his mother. They decide to keep the illusion. They produce letters supposed to be from the son and read them loud to the mother. One day the old woman wants to go to Paris...Here is really good acting in a movie which shows life like it certainly can be. The tempo is "slow", like it might occur in the so called reality. The "fake letter" plot has been used before however, but in the end you still have questions. There are many possible alternatives. Definitely worth seeing, not only because it isn't from UK or US.

noralee "Since Otar Left (Depuis qu'Otar est parti...)" deals heartbreakingly humanistically with many of the same political and family issues that "Goodbye, Lenin!" treats for humor -- today's ironic adjustment to capitalism in former U.S.S.R. satellites, the cross-generational responsibilities of those who lived under the Big Lies, and filial love. With dialogue in French, Georgian, and Russian, debut writer/directer Julie Bertucelli focuses on a Francophile household of an earthy grandmother, mother, and daughter in Georgia and their relationships to the dead, absent, and present men who are satellites in their lives. While there's reminders of O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Last Leaf," not a single character is a cliche or dumb and none of their decisions is predictable. The audience literally holds its breath to see each woman's reactions as their emotional predicaments get more complicated in a weave of their own making. The actresses, from 21 to 90 years old, brilliantly convey the complex emotional see saw. A simply beautiful movie that's one of the best of the year.