Eliso
About Eliso
In the nineteenth-century Caucasus, a Cossack ataman tricks illiterate Chechen villagers into signing what they think is a plea to stay. The paper asks that they be sent to Turkey. Eliso, daughter of the village elders, loves Vajia, a Christian Khevsur. He tries to get the expulsion cancelled and fails. The villagers leave. As a non-Muslim he cannot go with them. At night Eliso slips back into the village, now held by Cossacks, and sets it on fire.
Cast & crew
More about Eliso
Nikoloz Shengelaia directed this Georgian SSR silent, loosely taken from a story by Alexander Kazbegi. Sergei Tretyakov shares the writing credit. Vladimer Kereselidze photographed it. The English Wikipedia dates the release 23 October 1928 and the running time at 90 minutes. Amkino released it in the United States in 1929 as Caucasian Love.
Themes
Background
The story uses the nineteenth-century removal of Muslim highlanders from the Caucasus, with Cossacks moved onto the emptied land.
Look
Vladimer Kereselidze shot the silent picture, including the night return to the occupied village.
Music
Iona Tuskia composed the score.
Preservation
A copy circulates under the American release title Caucasian Love.
Notes
- Kira Andronikashvili plays Eliso. Kokhta Karalashvili plays Vajia.
- Aleksandre Imedashvili plays Astamur. Tsetsilia Tsutsunava and Aleksandre Jorjoliani are also in the cast.
- Iona Tuskia wrote the music.
- A festival credit list names Dimitri Shevardnadze for the production design.
- The Internet Archive copy is filed under the American title Caucasian Love.
Scenes
- Villagers put their marks on a paper they have been told will let them stay.
- Eliso sets fire to the Cossack-held village after the people have been sent away.
Influenced by
- Alexander Kazbegi's story
Also available
- Internet Archive (caucasian-love_1928)
