Tangerines (Film)

Tangerines (original title: Mandariinid, also known in Turkish as Mandalinalar or Mandalina Bahçesi) is a 2013 war drama film co-produced by Estonia and Georgia, written and directed by Zaza Urushadze. The film explores the futility of war, as well as the concepts of humanity, peace, and conscience, through the story of two Estonian villagers stranded in the midst of the 1992–1993 Abkhazia War.

The film was jointly produced by Estonia’s Allfilm and Georgia’s Georgian Film. Shooting took place in the Guria region of Georgia, and the film premiered in Georgia on 17 October 2013. Its budget was approximately 650,000 euros, and it achieved box office revenue exceeding one million dollars worldwide. The 87-minute production was filmed in color in Estonian, Georgian, and Russian.

In 1992, the war in Abkhazia, Georgia, rages with full intensity. During the conflict, many Estonian villagers abandoned their homes and returned to Estonia, but the carpenter Ivo and his friend Margus chose to remain in their village to harvest the mandarins. Margus intends to collect and sell the final crop, while Ivo plans to assist him. However, their plans are disrupted when the front line of the war reaches their village.

One day, following a nearby clash, two wounded soldiers—one Chechen and one Georgian—are brought to Ivo’s home. Ivo shelters them until they recover. Despite being enemies in war, Ahmed the Chechen and Nika the Georgian are forced to live together under Ivo’s peaceful and humane care. Their hatred gradually gives way to mutual understanding and moral reflection. The film portrays the senselessness of war and the struggle of individuals to retain their humanity.

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• Ivo (Lembit Ulfsak): An elderly carpenter who sent his family to Estonia but refused to abandon his land.
• Margus (Elmo Nüganen): Ivo’s friend and a farmer who produces mandarins; he dreams of completing the harvest and selling his land.
• Ahmed (Giorgi Nakashidze): A Chechen soldier.
• Nika (Misha Meskhi): A Georgian soldier.

The film centers on the destructive impact of war on human nature and the absurdity of enmity and prejudice. Zaza Urushadze symbolically portrays both the physical and moral devastation of war through the two enemy soldiers and Ivo, who occupies the role of mediator. The mandarin orchard represents peace, labor, and productivity. The green and orange mandarins symbolize the two sides of the conflict, while Ivo’s orchard becomes a neutral space of humanity.

Throughout the film, the question of why the warring parties are fighting is raised several times, yet no character provides a satisfactory answer. This underscores the human tendency toward destruction and the irrational nature of war. References to Ivo’s grandson’s photograph underscore the themes of love, loss, and remembrance.

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Urushadze employs a minimalist narrative style and pastoral landscapes to convey the unfolding events with simplicity. A contrast is drawn between the sounds of war and the silence of nature. The film’s score is supported by the piece “Me gadmovtsurav zgvas” by Georgian artist Irakli Charkviani.

Tangerines was nominated by Estonia for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards (2015) and also competed in the same category at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards. The film won a total of 12 awards and received 10 additional nominations across various categories.