The local gossips, with their tittering, pitying glances, might find it hard to believe, but 48-year-old Etero (Eka Chavleishvili) is single by choice. Finally free from the overbearing chauvinism of her father and brother, she dedicates herself to the running of her austere little shop in a Georgian mountain village (she stocks a sparse selection of toiletries, cleaning products and sundry disappointments) and to her hobbies – picking blackberries near the river gorge and demolishing enormous, slab-like portions of cake. But then, suddenly and unexpectedly, love finds Etero. A passionate encounter with delivery man Murman (Temiko Chichinadze) next to the detergent boxes in her storeroom divests her of her virginity. Now she must balance her newfound yearning for emotional contact against her hard-won freedom.

Chavleishvili is terrific, delivering a performance that carries the picture and sets its tone. Her Etero displays a combination of severity and sensuality that should be incongruous but works beautifully. And the character is mirrored by the film’s Kaurismäkiesque colour palette, which seems gloomy at first glance but is revealed to be rich, full-blooded and strikingly handsome.

• In UK and Irish cinemas now