Russia; The Globe Thanks You

Thank you for the AK-47 model. Thank you for the vodka. And maybe most importantly, especially for the purposes of this post, thank you for your morbid version of gambling, Russian roulette.
Oh yes, nothing raises the stakes more than a game of chance with your very life. It's what seperates the men from... well, cadavres. But is there anyone out there that isn't fascinated by the whole activity? Is there anyone that wouldn't give into curiosity and buy a few tickets to a tournament if it really were an underground spectator sport? Or moreso, would you actually enter it yourself?

Well, seeings as that isn't really a question that holds much of a position in most of the civilised world, the absolute next best thing is 13 (Tzameti), a film about Russian roulette. And when I say it looks like the most tension-packed movie in a very long time, that just may be an understatement.

First off, the title is really weird, because 'tzameti' actually means 'thirteen' in Georgian. So then the film is called 13 Thirteen. It's an odd one, but it may still make sense. The number 13 seems to be quite prolific in the trailer, appearing as door numbers and on the shirts of roulette contestants, as well as other places. I can only assume the number will pop up quite a lot throughout the actual movie.

The film is black and white, and this seems very much suited to the dark subject matter. Colour would be merely a distraction to this world of easy money and easy killing, so I'm all for it. The trailer alone is so motherfucking tense, and I mean, so tense it affected me in a really refreshing and terrifying way. I was all clenched up, staring at the light bulb, witnessing and experiencing the terror in the faces of the unwitting corpses-to-be as they held their hand-cannon to the man next to them. When the bulb lights up, it's lights out for some. Who survives the round isn't revealed, but it's certainly grabbed me by my adrenal gland and pulled me into its world. I simply can't wait to check this out in it's entirety. This is the type of cinema I love most of all, a product that I know will change me somewhat and move me in a certain way for its running time and beyond.

If I have one complaint about the trailer, however, it's the absolutely horrendous voice-over at the end. "THIRRRTEEN ZzzAMEDDI". Ewwww. What a cheap sounding, gross male voice. It doesn't even sound natural. It sounds like one of those voice simulators packed in with Windows XP. Yuck.
Ruined the whole thing for me. What a bastard. If you're reading right now, 13 (Tzameti) trailer voice-over man, I hate you! You're lucky I don't know who you are or where you live, because if I did, you'd have had your voice-box brutally removed by a break-and-enter attack while you slept one night....

Nevertheless:
Thank you Russia. And thank you Georgia. Thank you 13 (Tzameti).


13 (Tzameti) - Palm Pictures
Anticipation Level: Very high.
Look out for: Look, the whole trailer is a MUST SEE. It's totally affecting. Just try and ignore the voice-over guy at the end.
US Release date: I've been looking out for this for a while, and I was shocked to discover it has already had a US release back on 28th July, 2006, although only in one city.
Trailer Source