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Trailer here. (http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/13tzameti/trailer/)
Release Date: July 28th, 2006 (NY)
Starring: George Babluani, Aurelien Recoing, Philippe Passon, Pascal Bongard, Fred Ulysse
Directed by: Gela Babluani
Premise: Twenty-two-year-old Sebastien leads an impoverished life with his immigrant family constantly struggling to support them. While repairing the roof of a neighbor's house, he overhears a conversation about an expected package which promises to make the household rich. Sensing the opportunity of a lifetime, Sebastien intercepts the package which contains a series of specific instructions. Following the clues, he assumes a false identity and manages to slip through the grasp of the enclosing police as he ventures deeper and deeper into the countryside. The closer he gets to his destination and the more people he meets along the way, the less he understands about what he is looking for. Ultimately, he comes face to face with a ring of clandestine gamblers placing bets on the outcome of a multi-player, high stakes tournament of Russian roulette.
Just rented and watched this... I think I wanted to like it more than I did. It has a great premise and often very effective moments of suspense but overall it's not as intene and as engaging as it maybe could have been. Tis worth a watch though and quite impressive for a low budget debut.
This is better than most of what's in theaters, so it's woth a look. It has a kind of Beckett-like feel to it at times, and sometimes it seems a bit too allegorical or interpretive. But I guess that's not something I can really hold against it. The cinematography suffered.
ROLE SCRAMBLE
Source: NY Post
October 9, 2006 -- JOAQUIN Phoenix, Toby Maguire, Heath Ledger and Leonardo DiCaprio are the leading contenders for the main role in the American remake of the French art-house hit "13 (Tzameti)." At the Eurasia Film Festival in Kazakhstan, Gela Babluanis, who directed the original - about a high-stakes game of Russian roulette - told Post film editor V.A. Musetto that he also would helm the new version, using an all-American cast. Babluanis said he was scouting locations in New York and New Jersey.