Reflective and stoic, sometimes to a fault, Levan Koguashvili’s film “Brighton 4th” explores the hyper-masculine world of Georgian wrestlers and gamblers in Brooklyn. Featuring a ruminative performance by former Olympic wrestler Lavan Tediashvili, as Kakhi, who travels from Tbilisi to Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach to see his son Soso (Giorgi Tabidze), and try to dig him out a gambling debt, Koguashvili’s film is strongest when focusing on the eclectic immigrants that populate Brighton Beach, as well as Soso’s boarding house. Interested in the way communities form around immigrant populations, “Brighton 4th” is a thoughtful naturalistic film keen to follow around Kakhi as he explores this familial, but nevertheless strange, community.
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Pulling from Tediashvili’s real-life career as a wrestler, “Brighton 4th” begins in Georgia, as Kakhi is preparing to leave his wife and travel to the US to visit his son Soso. Deeply in debt to a local mafia boss – and ex-wrestler – Soso lives in a boarding house with other Georgian immigrants, including an artist, an opera singer, etc. Bringing with him some money, Khaki hopes to negotiate with the mafia to forgive some of the debt, but Soso’s gambling addiction only complicates matters. Yet, even this description somewhat suggests more plot than Koguashvili wants to contend with, as the film drifts off, on multiple occasions, to portray the lives of those in the boarding house. With his brute strength, Khaki is even recruited to intimidate a Kazakh business owner who employs, but doesn’t pay, Georgian women for work.
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While often circling back to Soso’s debts, “Brighton 4th” is much more interested in how communities form within newer environments, as Khaki represents a tangible connection to Georgia for many of those who live in the boarding house, even bringing over Georgian cheese in his suitcase. The film often pauses to reflect on these cultural rituals as Koguashvili spends ample time showcasing the group’s dinners together. While there is an element of menace always lurking in the periphery of film, its naturalistic style foregrounds the community that exists within Brighton.
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When the film does move into the negotiations – and counter-offers – that often come along with handling gambling debt, Khaki’s stoicism contrasts with his son’s penchant for impulsiveness, a trait that is obviously familial but always one that Khaki has since grown too old for. If there aren’t exactly sustained dramatic stakes within the film, which also includes a subplot about Soso’s fake marriage to a fellow Georgian for Green Card, one gets the sense that the plot is just an excuse to give voice to these interesting characters, allowing Tediashvili to play off an eclectic group of performers, modulating his obvious gruffness to fit whatever particular setting he’s in.
When the film finally reaches its climax, with a muted showdown on Brighton Beach that can probably be guessed out by the character’s former professions, Koguasvhili, alongside cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (“The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Ford v Ferrari”) shoot at a distance, allowing the men ample space to figure out their differences. This space between camera and protagonist echoes the divide that Khaki keeps everyone at, as his stoicism becomes a defining trait throughout, concealing an interior that continually worries about his son.
“Brighton 4th” might be slower and lack the dramatic stakes of other films that dive into this type of criminal activity, it’s still a compelling and somewhat tangential portrait of the Eastern European community that exists in Brighton and features a great performance by Tediashvili, in his first film role. [B]
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