Blind Dates

Sandro is a Tbilisi schoolteacher—balding, single, and living at home at 40. His only friend Iva, a girls’ soccer coach, finds himself similarly lacking a soul mate. Gregarious Iva comes up with schemes to help them meet women through the internet, which place them in ridiculously awkward situations. Tired of his parents’ nagging to get married already, Sandro suggests a trip to a Black Sea resort for fresh air. They run into Manana, a soccer mom they know from home, and Sandro is smitten. There’s only one problem: Manana’s husband Tengo, a petty criminal, gets out of jail soon. One thing leads to another, and Sandro ends up as Tengo’s driver. A paean to the warm relationships that ease the cold pragmatism of modern life, BLIND DATES bursts with references to Georgian poetry, music, food, and historical figures. It’s a dry comedy from the country that has joined Romania as the rising star among post-Communist film industries. (In Georgian with subtitles) —B.B.