Giorgi Shengelaia's Pirosmani is an unconventional portrait of the Georgian painter Nikoloz Pirosmanishvili, known as Pirosmani, a prominent figure in the tradition of primitive art. The film consists of several carefully composed tableaux, often set in the Tbilisi taverns and restaurants where he sold his paintings in exchange for food and drink. One of Georgia's most internationally celebrated painters today, Pirosmani lived in poverty and died of starvation at the age of 55.
Stylistically, Pirosmani is far from a conventional biopic. Shengelaia avoids the usual cliches, instead experimenting with visual composition and colour in ways that evoke the distinctive language of Pirosmani's art. The scenes are often presented with a deliberate stillness, with figures facing the camera or positioned almost like characters in a painting. The result is a film of remarkable visual beauty, in which even the most austere and melancholy scenes possess an almost painterly radiance.
Notably, the image of a solitary and uncompromising artist is brought to life by Avtandil Varazi, who was a painter himself and is also co-credited with the film's production design and art direction. Varazi's own life and artistic career had certain parallels with Pirosmani's: his work was often overlooked, he struggled for recognition, and he also battled alcoholism, dying at the age of 50, eight years after the film was released. This perhaps helps explain the unusually restrained and convincing presence he brings to the role.
