In this satire of urban life in Paris, two bourgeois objects are the movie's secret stars, a rare set of 18th century Limoges china and a 19th century nude portrait. While the aura of these objects has definitely vanished, in the film, during two or three days, these objects are bought and stolen, lost and found, ripped and smashed, by a multitude of incongruous characters, rich and poor alike. Iosseliani, in this in his own words “abstract comedy”, choreographs a web of convoluted relationships of love and deceit, and instead of telling a straightforward story, he reflects on the absurd and comic aspects of existence, social class and social order. Besides, borrowing the title from Shakespeare, he wants to elevate “the favourites of the moon, the whores and the tramps!”
Otar Iosseliani
Otar Iosseliani was born in 1934 in Tbilisi, Georgia, where he studied music composition, conducting and piano. In 1953 he went to Moscow to study mathematics, but in two years he quit and entered the State Film Institute where his teacher was among others, Alexander Dovzhenko. While still a student in film direction, he began working in Tbilisi, first as an assistant director and then as an editor of documentaries. When his medium-length film “Aprili” (1961) was denied theatrical distribution, Iosseliani abandoned filmmaking and in 1963-1965 worked first as a sailor on a fishing boat and then at a metallurgical factory. When his 1976 film “Pastorali"" was shelved for a few years and then granted only a limited distribution, Iosseliani grew skeptical about getting any artistic freedom in his homeland. In 1984 he moved to France where he made “Favorites Of The Moon”. The film was distinguished with a Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival. His films have been presented in major film festivals and have won major prizes.
