The Sentimentalists (2014)

Two henchmen, Hermes and John, do 'dirty work' for a criminal. Both will commit a fatal mistake: while Hermes falls for the daughter of the boss, John is obsessed with a prostitute. Both will pay a heavy price for being 'sentimentalists'.

Director:

Nik Triantafyllidis (as Nicholas Triandafyllidis)

Writer:

Nik Triantafyllidis (as Nicholas Triandafyllidis)

Stars:

Dimitris Lalos, Haris Fragoulis, Takis Moshos

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Dimitris Lalos	...	Buddha
Haris Fragoulis	...	Yannis
Takis Moshos	...	The Master
Ilianna Mavrommati	...	Master's daughter
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vasilis Anastasiou	...	Killer at hospital (as Thitis)
Ioanna Bakalakou	...	Nineta
Christos Dimas	...	Doctor
George Fourtounis	...	Ali
Eftyhia Giakoumi	...	Prostitute
Renos Haralambidis	...	Dance studio owner
Markos Holevas
Valeria Hristodoulidou	...	Nurse
Evgenia Kovotsou	...	Bar waitress
Ayis Lertas	...	(as Agis Lertas)
Rania Makri

Storyline

An aged , above any suspicion, bourgeois by the nickname 'The Master', lives isolated in a luxurious beachfront villa with his teenage daughter. In reality, however, he is an illicit trade in antiquities, a loan shark and a black market trader of antiquities. The 'Master' has two henchmen to do his 'dirty work', Mercury and John, both of committing a fatal mistake: while Mercury falls for the daughter of 'Master', John is obsessed with a prostitute. Both of them , as 'sentimentalists', must be whacked.

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Plot Keywords:

male full frontal nudity | male pubic hair | pubic hair | male nudity | male frontal nudity | 

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Genres:

Crime

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User Reviews

A modern Greek tragedy

A gem of modern Greek independent cinema. Love disturbs the dangerous balance of violent lives in The Sentimentalists by Nicholas Triandafyllidis, presented in the Autumn section of the 2014 Raindance Film Festival.

Two hit men fall in love with two forbidden women. One falls for a prostitute and the other one for his boss' daughter. Love is, from the get go, synonymous with tragedy and much like the film noirs of old conveys the self destructive nature of criminal characters. The film, in fact, begins with the sudden murder of one of the hit men - interrupting his casual romantic date with his girl. From there, we backtrack to a couple of days before the events and are introduced to the Greek gangland.

An overprotective father, a manipulative pimp - they represent the obstacles in the film's romance. Because this film has much more to do with oniric and graceful romance than modern gangster flicks. It is a film full of vulnerabilities of sweetness. This is shown by the soft lighting which sometimes even slips to the old fashioned soft focus of pre-code era Hollywood. A particular attention to the pacing and rhythm of the film, much slower than one would expect, and a fluid camera- work also make the experience magnetic in a quasi- spiritual way. It is concealed by the nostalgic soundtrack, with old songs punctuated by the crackling of vinyl records and the gently tapping of the fingers on the keyboard of a piano. Even on a sexual perspective, love making and adoration is portrayed by the attention given to feet. Here, this visual touch is not at all fetishistic, but rather a sign of vulnerability and helplessness.

Nevertheless, love that lives in a world of violence is born to die. And despite the well meant romanticism and the dream like appeal of the film, self destruction remains the constant drug. One of the hit men is a loose cannon and has less control on his life also due to his vices and alcohol abuse. The other one is much more collected, yet his love for his boss' daughter is a magnificent obsession he clearly cannot do without. The Sentimentalists is in fact a modern noir, and as such it ties in the nostalgia identified with the genre without disregarding the influence of the times it is set in - including the crippling economic crisis that hit Greece so hard.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Greece

Language:

Greek

Release Date:

18 December 2014 (Greece)

Also Known As:

Oi Aisthimaties

Company Credits

Production Co:

Greek Film Center, Marni Films, NiMa Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1