Istoria 52 (2008)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Alexis Alexiou

Writer:

Alexis Alexiou (writer)

Release Date:

10 April 2008 (Greece)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline:

Sometimes your mind is the most dangerous place to be

Plot Keywords:

Scrabble | Number In Title

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Yorgos Kakanakis	...	Iasonas
Serafita Grigoriadou	...	Pinelopi
Dafni Labroyanni	...	Katerina
Argiris Thanasoulas	...	Stamatis
Orfeas Zafeiropoulos	...	Giorgos
Giasemi Kilaidoni	...	Danai
Giorgos Karamihos	...	Narrator

Also Known As:

Tale 52 (International: English title)

Runtime:

Greece:97 min (approx.)

Country:

Greece

Language:

Greek

Color:

Color (35 mm version) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (original version)

Filming Locations:

Athens, Greece

Company:

Greek Film Center

An excellent attempt

This is the debut long feature for the director, and it is a very nice surprise for the Greek cinema. Indeed, Alexiou manages to tell an extraordinary tale in an interesting and convincing manner. The narration follows a circular pattern, where the central hero keeps remembering and reliving the story of how he met the woman he loves. This may remind someone of the films by David Lynch, and it is true that Alexiou seems to have been influenced by the great American director, although it would be unfair to compare the two, since this is only a debut film which cannot avoid having some weaknesses, especially as far as the screenplay is concerned. It is also vague what the director tries to communicate with this film, although one might think of paranoid jealousy, mental and spiritual idleness (in a way the exact opposite of "L'amour fou"), mental instability and the circularity of time which prevents people from accomplishing their goals. In any case, this seems to be a unique movie in modern Greek cinema, and I am sure that people from other countries will also enjoy it, as long as they have in mind that it is only a first feature film.