SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2024 REVIEW! After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the nation of Georgia gained independence. Russia, being Russia, the country began to instigate conflicts between many post-Soviet states. These acts instigated a year-long war in Abkhazia, a republic in Georgia. What ensued was basically an ethnic cleansing that caused the displacement of over 200,000 Georgians. Director Giorgi Kvelidze’s new documentary On the Way Home tells the story of two Georgian families forced to “live” in war-torn buildings located in Western Georgia.
The film follows a grandmother caring for her grandson and an 81-year-old woman (also a grandmother) living alone in a crumbling building, each person waiting for the government to give them a proper home. As they bide their time, these misplaced souls try their best to keep normalcy alive through books, TV, and music. There is school, housework, cooking, and friends, but life is far from what it should be.
Kvelidze’s film (and the presentation of his subjects) is enhanced by the self-told stories of their good lives before the war. The audience gets to know these people through their remembrance of family members long gone or of whom they are now separated due to the forced displacement. In one of the doc’s most memorable and moving scenes, an 81-year-old grandmother is visited by her grandson. There are tears and smiles and hugs. Seeing the grandson as one of the few lights in the old woman’s life highlights the connections shattered when wars displace the unfortunate victims of conflict.
“…two families forced to ‘live’ in war-torn buildings located in Western Georgia.”
The director moves through the history of his subjects’ families not only through their remembrances but also by capturing the life that still blooms inside their homes. The walls and tables are filled with family pictures and a time when lives and country bloomed. Kvelidze’s camera never lingers but allows the frame to breathe with the memories of life before the war.
As we watch the subjects go through their daily lives while surrounded by the shelter that constantly reminds them of their plights, one woman speaks the word “Patience.” It becomes clear that (while waiting on proper living conditions) patience is the strongest weapon they have. Perhaps fear has been conquered, as they have been through so much (war, death of family members, watching their once beautiful country become ravaged) that fear is now behind them. All that exists is the patience to know (hope) that the government will soon find acceptable housing for each of them.
By the film’s end, the director informs viewers that in 2023, the UN General Assembly issued a resolution to “ensure the voluntary, safe, dignified, and unhindered return” of all displaced souls affected by the conflict.
When one sees footage and news stories of refugees, it must be understood that each and everyone has a story. When TV screens show huddled masses with sad faces, these are not a cause to fight for nor an example to use in protest of wars. They are people who love and are loved and just want the right to live a good life. On the Way Home is a film that brings the humanity of the displaced into focus, showing compassion towards its subjects while existing as a heartfelt call for peace.