Kyuka Before Summer's End (2024)NDNF 2025

A father sails with his two college age children to one of the Greek islands. Nominally it’s for a vacation, but he has other plans in mind, in particular to get the kids to meet the mother who ran out on them when they were babies.

Despite the fact that the set up sounding serious, this is a surprising up beat little film. First time director Kostis Charamountanis has mad a one of a kind film that moves along at a great clip and manages to work despite making several choices that would have sunk any other film.

While the film starts off conventional, the film shifts once we get to the island into something else. Using experimental or if not that unconventional techniques, fragmented narrative and a few other things, the film takes on a life of its own. The techniques are showy and in your face and in any other hands would have come off as annoying but here the tricks come off completely in line with the tone of the film. This is a warts and all family vacation where your family does weird things but you don’t care because you love them and the weirdness is them. Here the repeated shots or removed shots or whatever else is all part of the charm of the film.

That the film works is entirely due to the cast who aren’t so much acting as just living life. If I didn’t know any better I would swear everyone was related to everyone else. There is an ease and a joy to the interaction that makes you feel as though everyone has lived their lives together.

This film is a joy.

This is one of the best films at this year’s New Directors New Films and is highly recommended.

Brief thoughts on Haunted Heart (2024)

A woman travels to a remote Greek island to take a job at a restaurant. Over the time she begins to fall for the owner, an American ex-pat who wants to keep his past hidden.

This is a great looking thriller driven by a great cast. Everyone hits their  mark and this is largely a really good thriller. Sure, the film covers ground we've traveled before but the cast and the filmmaking make it a trip that is worth taking.

At the same time, the film has one thing that works against it, and that is the film is much too long. As good as the film is, it needs to be shorter. It's not that there is anything wrong, it's more that the film isn't doing anything that requires this to be 128 minutes. It's not fatal but the film drops from great to good.

Run time quibble aside HAUNTED HEART is worth a look, especially on a rainy night on the couch.

She Loved Blossoms More (2024) Tribeca 2024

Three brothers attempt to build a time machine in order to bring their dead mother back and up opening a rift to another dimension.

This is a great looking film where the form and look over whelms the content. It's a throwback to the off kilter Ero- horror/scifi films of the 1970's or more recent homages like BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW. It's a film that is flawed and doesn't hang together but remains watchable because the bits are intriguing (I mean an inter-dimensional chicken and a time machine in a wardrobe?)

I'm not going to lie I'm really torn about this film. I know why the film was programmed at Tribeca and I know why it will find an audience and be a festival favorite (the images and pieces are magnificent) but the film is very often a mess. 

The tone, which is of a dry comedy, doesn't work. Its humor is of the sort where we recognize something is funny but we don't actually laugh. It's inclusion lessens what should be a disturbing series of events. (David Cronenberg did some of this better in THE FLY) 

There is sex and drugs because there are sex and drugs not because they actually add much to the film.  

While I don't expect logic and reason in a film like this, there really isn't even an attempt at it. I kept wanting to ask why about plot turns because I was never fully invested.

I think a large part of the reason I never engaged with anything beyond the visuals is that the choice was made to have the brothers underplay things. There is no emotion, or range and it kind of feels like they are walking through this. Its a choice that makes them seem like they don't really care about anything other than having sex with the girl - and even then they so under play they make the sex and drugs boring.

On the other hand the weird visuals (see above) and the occasional odd turn kept me watching when I wanted to bail early on. I wanted to see how the image reproduced above played into the story.

While occasionally delighted, I was mostly disappointed. I was hoping for a film I could rewatch as a whole instead of one where I only will revisit  via photos or clips of various moments

Brando With A Glass Eye (2024) Slamdance 2024

Yiannis Niarros stars as a method actor who resorts to robbery in order to go to New York to go to an audition at the Actor's Studio only to have it go wrong...and then it goes into unexpected directions.

This is a major coup for Slamdance. I'm truly shocked that this kick ass drama didn't end up at the flashier fest across town. I say that because Niarros gives a jaw dropping performance that is going to have him grabbed by Hollywood not long after the film screens for the first time.

Career making performance aside BRANDO WITH A GLASS EYE is a killer drama. Going in all sorts of directions the film hooks us early and carries us along. I was riveted, cursing the fact that I was not seeing this in a theater full people with whom I could tumble out of the the screening and then talk to about the film for an hour or so afterward. 

This is a film full of characters and life that worms its way into your soul. By the time the end came I was just staring at the screen delighting in the discovery of Niarros who just knocked it out of the park. It's a performance that transcends the material and makes it better, forcing us to go along just because his charisma and skill is so great we can't look away.

I was moved.

And this isn't to sell the script short, it's really good, with lots of twists and unexpected moments, but rather it's simply to say that Niarros lifts it all up.

Highly recommended this is a must see at Slamdance or where ever you can see it.

Minore (2023) FANTSPOA 2023

 

In a small Greek village some of the towns folk, tourists and musicians must fight off some evil eye creatures from the sea.

Wonderful mix of horror and comedy is an absolute delight. Taking the time to create real characters and situations this film gives us a group of people we like and with whom we want to fight the monsters. More importantly, while occasionally having its tongue in its cheek it never lets things spin wildly out of control. The jokes come from the people and situations and not just the need for a cheap laugh. The film creates a splendid sense of good will that carries us from start to finish.

One of the things I love about the film is the monsters. While on one hand they are kind of funny, on the other they are creepy as all hell. We want to see them die because despite looking kind of silly, they are also incredibly unnerving. In a weird way they are some of the best designed monsters I've seen in years.

I loved this film and I would love to see it again at a festival where I could see it with a theater full of people all on the same page, or in a drive in movie where it's wonderful 1970's or 1980's Euro Horror vibe would be right at home.

One of the best films at this year's Fantaspoa, MINORE is a must see for horror fans.

The Pure Place (2021)

Horror collides with heavy handed social commentary in a film that looks good but never manages to make the horror mesh with the lofty ideas

Allegorical horror film about children who are part of a cult. Considered the lowest of the low they wander a Greek Island living in filth and shoplifting what they need. They are waiting for the time when their leader will call them and lift them up into cleanliness and purity.  However the path to salvation takes unexpected turns for everyone involved.

Great looking film missed the mark for me. A little too insistent on being more than a horror film I never fell under its spell since it always seemed to be striving to be about something other than chills. This isn’t to sell the film completely short, it works as an drama an allegory, but it’s not really a scary film, which is what I wanted.

Reservations aside it’s worth a look for the curious.

Brief thoughts on Apples (2020) NDNF 2021

 

A pandemic occurs that wipes some people's memories. During it a man is stricken one night. He is brought to a hospital and the doctor's try to treat him. He is then placed in a program to give them a new life.

When this film started I thought I had a handle on where it was going, however the film quickly took some turns that surprised me and made me smile. This is a grand examination of life as seen through a different lens. Its a wonderful examination of who we are and what it means to be alive. It is full of moving small moments.

I really loved this film. Its a film that I devoured and stuck to my ribs like a great meal.

Recommended.

Cosmic Candy (2019) Fantasia 2020

35 year old grocery store clerk who hates change and loves the trippy Cosmic Candy has her life turned upside down when the ten year old next door breaks into her home and looking for a place to crash after her father disappears for not paying some seedy guys the money he owes.

Quirky whimsical comedy is either going to delight you and be one of the best films you’ve seen all year or it is going to be the wrong sort of saccharine and make you shake your head in disbelief. Put me in the latter group, since I found this film didn’t work for me since director --- was trying awfully hard to win me over.

However despite my feelings for the film don’t let that stop you if it looks interesting. I had read about the film before it was offered to me for Fantasia and I knew that reaction ran the gamut, I knew there was a chance I wouldn’t like it but I wanted to see it because of how people were expressing themselves about the film made me want to at least experience it. I really don’t hate the film, I just liked it. I think the unadulterated love expressed by some people on line over sold it to me. Its kind of like what happened with AMALIE.

Currently playing Fantasia its worth a look for anyone looking for whimsy

Entwined (2020)

A doctor needing a change travels to a remote village where he meets Danae a young woman with an off skin disease. As he tries to make in roads with the villagers who are wary of strangers he falls for Danae...

Modern day fairy tale/ myth is gorgeous to look at but maybe just on the wrong side of arty to truly work a a feature. Despite having some chilling moments this is a tale that would have worked better as a long short. I say this knowing that I really can't explain why lest I reveal the entire plot which would defeat the need for you to see it.

On the other hand if you are a fan of creepy fairy tale or lyric art house horror give it a go- all others can pass

ENTWINED is in virtual theaters August 28 with a North American VOD release on September 8

Smuggling Hendrix (2018) Tribeca 2018

SMUGGLING HENDRIX is a noble mess. Desperately trying to be a comedic drama, it tries t do way more than that with the result it never satisfies.

Yiannis' life has gone off his rails. His girlfriend has left him. His rent is months overdue and some scary guys want the money they loaned him. A bad decision to briefly unleash him results in his dog Jimi running away...and into the occupied portion of Cyprus. While he finds Jimi, getting him back to his side of the island proves to be a major problem.

Beautifully acted film has great characters, great photography and music but  very messy screenplay. Its a very messy plotted film  saddled with a deep need to make a point.

The problem with the plotting is two fold. First, even if allow that Yiannis has never crossed the border into occupied Cyprus, you have to believe that he knows absolutely nothing about crossing the border- which I would accept except he lives right at the border. His actions at other times make us aware he should know about many things he knows nothing about.

The other problem is the film allows the politics to get in the way of everything. Everything that happens makes reference to the politics of the situation. I mean everything-Yiannis constantly calls Hasan's house his house- despite being out of it for over four decades. We have the trio of Yiannis, Hasan and the Smuggler always moving together as if a visual representation of things. It grows tired real fast since everything happens has a "POINT!!!!!!!!!!!"

I tuned out. While I wanted to know if Jimi came back, I really didn't are about the rest.

No that is not true- I wanted to see a version of the story without the shit storm of the politics.

I am not a fan.

For more information on SMUGGLING HENDRIX at Tribeca go here.

Son of Sophia (2017) Tribeca 2017

Elina Psykou's SON OF SOPHIA is a trek into what is becoming a new genre the Greek Weird Wave. This is movement that brought us films like DOGTOOTH and other loopy films. The films are more often than not extremely mannered and seemingly weird for the sake of being weird. Things are not wholly crazy, just off enough that you’re left feeling extremely uneasy and unsure of what the next step is going to be. How people react to the films depends on their tolerance for strange happenings. How you relate to the off kilter and mannered constructions of the film will determine how you react to the film.

The film concerns 11 year old Misha. For the last two or three years while he has been at home in Russia his mom has been in Greece.  When she sends for him, he thinks everything will be as it was and that he and his mom will be together again. However he finds that he has a new dad. This send him spiraling off and causes reality to merge with his take on fairy tales.

As much as I love strange films my tolerance for this sort of weirdness is low. To be honest I’m not sure what I think of Son of Sofia. Well-made on all levels the film is way too mannered to really work for me. I was probably twenty minutes in when I realized that the film wasn’t really interesting me. I would be able to stick it out to the end, I wanted to see how it was all going to play out, but I wasn’t connecting on to anything on the screen on most levels.

That said if you are a fan of Greek weird give it a shot

Labor of Finding Love: The Lobster @ NYFF

I just saw the first New York Film Festival screening of Yorgos Lanthimos’ feature, The Lobster, which will be shown again tomorrow at 9 pm. This makes the director 2 and 1 for me, with his latest work getting me all tingly with provoked thoughts and emotions, much in the way that his first feature Dogtooth did. Alps, which fell in between, made less of an impression but now I am determined to revisit it.

The film is set in a dystopian future based around a fantastical premise – single individuals must enter into binding relationships with another or face dire consequences, such as being transformed into animals – rendered in entirely un-fantastic fashion. There is no effect on the setting making it appear futuristic, and the only hint of how humans are changed into various creatures in the bestiary is a closed door, above which is hung a sign that says something like ‘animal changing room.’  Along with details such as this, much of the narrative is also left up to the imagination. Lanthimos has an intriguing way of progressing the story, narrated from a point of view of particular poignancy down the line, that reveals the workings of its world little by little. Right up to the end, the viewer finds herself constructing the reality onscreen based on a modest sprinkling of clues. It’s an act of reverence, not disregard, for the audience.

The Lobster has a dry sense of humor that sneaks up with such uncanny deadpan and in the midst of laying out such peculiar scenarios, one often is not certain whether they should laugh or not. Much of this humor stems from the abovementioned narrator drolly accounting for the absurdities that befall the protagonist (played by Collin Farrell) as he maneuvers the strange as he tries to maneuver the bizarre landscape of a hotel meant to engender the coupling of its unattached inhabitants. Meanwhile Farrell’s pained sincerity, showing a complete ineptitude at manipulation or disingenuousness toward potential mates, is both endearing and painfully funny.  The script is also filled with lines that paint pictures of awkward hilarity in viewers’ minds, such as a rebel leader’s explanation that they ‘even dance alone. That’s why (we) only dance to electronic music.’

Lanthimos along with cowriter Efthymus Filippou tell a story filled with incongruities. Great expenditures of energy can go into acts of inconsequential pettiness, while other times characters casually commit acts of unthinkable cruelty. Even the kitsch paradise of the first act’s hotel, populated by naturally funny figures like a lisping fellow guest (John C. Reilly) and robotically enthusiastic master of ceremonies (Olivia Colman, whose filmography includes The Office, Look Around You, and Hot Fuzz), can stun audiences with sudden moments of sadism. Those who have experienced Dogtooth will know to beware the seemingly innocuous appearance of a toaster oven.

The subtext is filled with distrust for organizations, both those that are established and created to fight the establishment. It also teases apart the ridiculously complex and agonizing ritual our modern society have made of finding mates, without pointing any fingers. The social landscape here is beset with extreme inanities, for instance compatibility is based on individuals' shared physical impairments. Yet then we are dared to say that we really have it any better off. 

As for a few personal touchstones: I am reminded of The Double, Richard Aoyade’s equally dry dystopian future yarn filled with gallows humor galore, even if more for the dim fate of both films’ sad-sack protagonists than their visions of the future. Structurally there is something about The Lobster that keeps bringing to mind Sion Sono. Even if Lanthimos’ aesthetic is far more subdued, the way they allow their stories to meander off the tracks into epic or at least seemingly epic lengths shows Lanthimos is something of a kindred spirit to the Japanese provocateur, giving audiences a bit of an endurance test. All the better to bring about empathy for their protagonists’ pained positions.

There is no official release date for the film in the US but in the UK, The Lobster will claw its way onto screens October 16^th. When it makes its way to this area, I would gladly see the film again if it plays one of the area’s cozier repertoire theaters, such as IFC or The Alamo. Not the least of which to see the film with one particular scene with French dialogue subtitled, which was unintentionally left without captions according to Lanthimos during the post screening Q & A.

Below are pictures of Lanthimos and actresses Rachel Weisz and Ariane Labed from the Q & A afer the screening.

Twitter: @mondocurry

The Lobster (2015) New York Film Festival 2015

Yorgos Lanthimos' latest films has Colin  Farrell's wife divorcing him. This results in him being sent to a weird hotel where he has 45 days to find a new mate or be turned into the animal of his choice, in this case a lobster. Eventually he comes in contact with the Loners who live in the forest who allow social contact but will take drastic steps to prevent anyone from having a relationship.

Weird off kilter film is occasionally nasty, but is almost straight forward, loving and kind when compared to some of the director's earlier films. To be quite honest I despise the director's earlier films which made my liking of this film kind of a bolt out of the blue.

While the film's strangeness seems weird just to be weird, and much of the humor seems forced, there is something about the Colin Farrell character and those he keeps in his orbit that make the film oddly compelling. While not for all tastes the film does raise some interesting questions about the groups of people we encounter every day- namely those with lovers and those who are perpetually alone.

For me the film has one major problem and that is the artificiality of the construction. Lanthimos is definitely manipulating things and the world of the film is very much his world. The problem is that the film's internal logic breaks down the wider the net is cast. Once I accepted the notion of this world where a hotel like this could exist the film casts it's net wider with the inclusion of the Loners who are the exact opposite of the hotels world.  How they interact raises questions about the world off the screen- a problem that gets enlarged when the Loners begin going into the city. Why things are happening is less clear-though it's obvious that the director is simply turning things to make his point. This would be fine except things like the eye doctor visit come out of the blue and make you wonder how it is possible or why some turns that follow happen. With the logic gone the film begins to rapidly collapse in on itself.

Yes I know that's as clear as  mud but I can't tell you whats wrong with the film without explaining the entire film and if I do that, devoid of the performances, you'll think I and the film are mad.

Recommended for the adventurous and the fans of the director. All others are going to wonder what the hell is going on.

The film plays today and tomorrow. For more information and tickets go here.

Wednesday 04:45 (2015) Tribeca 2015

Form over content film will either thrill you or make you walk out of the theater, as several did during the course of the screening I attended. The problem isn't the central story line, its everything that's hung on it.

This neo-noir film concerns Stelios, the owner of a jazz club up to his eyeballs in debt to a Romanian gangster. Its 2010 and the Greek economy is tanking big time. There is civil unrest and for many it seems to be the end of the world. Stelios is informed by the gangster he has until Wednesday at 445am to pay him back or else he's going to have the club taken from him.  With nothing to lose Stelios tries to get the the money together.

All of that would be good except the film throws in a parallel story about an Albanian strip club owner also in debt, Stelios' failing marriage, his drug problem and his hallucinations. It makes for a crazy mix that ultimately doesn't make a lick of sense.

The problem is that in addition to being a film noir the film also wants to be a social satire on the Greek Economic crisis and everything seems to be a running commentary on that. Not being versed in what happened other than in generalities I felt like I was missing stuff. It would have been okay if the film hadn't been hitting us over the head with it, but it does and I kept feeling there was a deeper meaning.

The film also suffers from being very much in Stelios's head. The film is pretty much from his POV and  the result is a disjointed telling as sequences bounce around, people repeat whole sections of dialog and we're treated to the constant sound of ticking. This is very much an art film.

On the plus side the film does have some dynamite set pieces, in particular all the ones involving violence are extremely kick ass and the it's very likely that the final one as well as the one outside the restaurant will end up riffed on and discussed by action aficionados for years to come.

I don't hate the film, less so after having a long discussion with Joe Bendel on the way out of the theater, but I still don't love it. Yes the film has moments and is very good if you forget that nothing makes sense, but at the same time I kept wanting to yell at the director "what the hell are you doing?"

I've read the press notes and had several discussions now and I still don't know.