A family drama about three Georgian women doesn't sound like the most tempting prospect, but Since Otar Left is a surprising treat.

The three women are the elderly Eka, her daughter Marina, and Marina's daughter Ada. This is a family without men, and the film explores the impact of this, as Marina and Ada pursue half-hearted relationships, and Eka waits for letters from her son, Otar, who lives in Paris.

When the news arrives that Otar has been killed in an accident, Marina and Ada can't bring themselves to tell Eka, so they begin an elaborate deception, writing letters on his behalf and enclosing money that they can't afford. Their plan works, until Eka decides to visit Otar in Paris.

The film opens slowly, gradually revealing the significance of Otar and the relationships between the women. Like in real families, these are characterised both by tenderness and resentment, such as one beautiful scene where Marina washes her mother's hair while they grumble at each other.

The tensions are mainly between mother and daughter, as Marina feels overlooked in favour of Otar, and Eka feels Marina sets Ada a bad example. At one point Eka berates her, "You don't show your daughter enough love." Marina replies, "Neither do you."

Like Goodbye Lenin, there is a political dimension to this story too, as the young try to protect the old from the truths of the modern, post-Communist world. Eka provocatively complains that Georgia was better in Stalin's day, while Ada just wants to leave. Marina is caught in the middle, and the film subtly conveys her frustration at her generation's failure, as the electricity fails or the shower packs up.

The film is full of fine performances, but 90-year-old Esther Gorintin as Eka is quite outstanding. Gorintin made her acting debut at 85, in Emmanuel Finkiel's Voyages, and this is her fifth feature in five years. If it were only half as good this film would still be worth watching for her performance alone.

David Haviland, 2nd June 2004