Varlam Aravidze is the authoritarian, Stalin-like mayor of a Georgian town. In the days following his funeral, the grave keeps being mysteriously robbed and his corpse appearing in the most unusual places. Eventually, the police arrest a local individual who is believed to be the direct responsible.

Banned in 1984, briefly unbanned in 1987, then swiftly banned again in 1988, this controversial final film from Tengiz Abuladze, one of the greatest Soviet directors, is a frequently funny allegory on Russian dictatorship. Winner of three prizes at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.