Cast overview: | |||
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Stella Fyrogeni | ... | Elpida |
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Andreas Vasileiou | ... | Costas (as Andreas Vasiliou) |
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Popi Avraam | ... | Eleftheria |
Marios Ioannou | ... | Doctor | |
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Prokopis Agathokleous | ... | Young man |
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Marina Mandri | ... | Young woman |
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Georgina Tatsi | ... | Irini |
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Andrey Pilipenko | ... | Painter |
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Oriana Mantzouranou | ... | Little Elpida |
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Louisa Michael | ... | Baby |
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Cyan | ... | Bird |
Elpida, a middle-aged housewife, is trapped in the misery of an oppressive loveless marriage, with a man who has no consideration for her feelings and needs. Her monotonous life is disrupted when a young painter is employed to paint the building she lives in. Her imagination then starts to flourish as she is confronted with her unquenchable desires, her body and the husband she has no love for. After he sells her car without her consent, she becomes vindictive and violent towards him, but her perception of reality is questioned when she has no recollection of events that actually happened.
Stella Fyrogeni is remarkable in the Greek domestic drama "Pause". Her portrayal of a long-suffering wife, so minimized by her loathsome husband it doesn't even pass for underappreciated, is at various turns in this film: morose, incensed, impassioned and, ultimately and most unlikely, giddy.
And as the movie's premise is that this is a middle-aged woman ensnared in a vicious bout with menopause, we as an audience are never entirely sure if what we are watching is her real world or her fantasy one.
Captivating stuff here to be sure. If it wasn't all just so damn dismal.